P4: Beatles Magic
by SecondAsian
Summary: The year's 2012. Yosuke Hanamura's always worn his headphones, listening to various artists and genres. However, he listens to a new kind of music, and finds it causes wonderful things to happen to him, and to those around him. Let the Beatlemania begin!
1. Good Day Sunshine

**5/5 2012**

**Weather: Sunny**

**School Day**

**Time: After School**

It was a regular spring day in the town of Inaba. Flower petals fell from the trees, slowly brushing the ground. Bluebirds chirped in the skies, the trees, the top of buildings. The shopping district seemed as busy as ever, but not with business, but with people enjoying the beautiful day out. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. This day was...perfect. That is, unless you were to turn to the Hanamura household. Yosuke Hanamura's parents had left him to maintain the household while they were on a trip to a convention in America (hosted by Wal-mart.). Therefore, it was currently Yosuke's duty to rid the house of cobwebs, leaves, and other garbage.

He hadn't done his job. Two days into his parent's absence, and the gutters were filled to the brink with leaves from the past autumn, cobwebs accumulated in the nooks and crannies of the house's depths, and the grass was overgrown, with patches of brown from the lack of rain and the fact Yosuke hadn't watered it since days after his parents left. Youd've thought a hermit lived there. This didn't bother Yosuke, however. Right now, he was in his room, which was in shambles, talking on the phone with a faraway friend.

"S-so it's true!?" he said as his voice wavered in disbelief," You're really visiting us?"

"Yeah, I can come," responded Souji Seta, the boy on the other friend, one of Yosuke's dearest friends," My parents say I deserve a break, so I'm visiting for the long holiday. I've already made plans with the Dojimas."

"Woohoo!" Yosuke cried out in victory," Wait! Are we clear, that the only ones that are me and Dojima-san?"

"Yeah, and whatever you do, Hanamura, do not blab this to anyone," commanded his friend," Especially Rise, you know she can't keep a secret."

Yosuke positioned himself for a miltary salute," You have my word, Leader!" He saluted, said goodbye, then hung up," Man, this is gonna be awesome!"

Downstairs, he heard the doorbell ring," A visitor? For moi?" He said to himself jokingly.

He opened the front door, and before he could respond, he felt a blinding pain in between his legs. The object that struck him was none another than his other friend, Chie Satonaka's, shoe.

He groaned, then yelled," I thought we agreed no steel-toed boots!" He soon leaned against the doorway and slid downward.

"Well, you went way too far this time!" yelled Chie angrily," Look at this!"

She took out a DVD case with an illustration of famous movie star and martial artist, Bruce Lee, and the words "Trial of the Dragon II"," You owe me TWO DVDs now!"

"It's not my fault!" argued Yosuke, about to cry.

Yosuke turned his head and saw two familiar faces: Kanji Tatsumi and Rise Kujikawa.

"'Sup guys!" greeted the cheerful idol loudly," Um, Yosuke-senpai? Everything all right?"

"Oh, just dandy," groaned Yosuke in pain, then directing his attention to Chie, said, pointing at Kanji," It was him!"

"Eh?" Kanji looked quizzingly at his friend, then looked down and saw Chie looking up at him, her eyes on fire.

"Well, Kanji," Chie began calmly," Did you break my DVD?"

Kanji, looking down at the pained Yosuke, who was struck in the exact place he wanted to keep- no, the thing he NEEDED to keep to have his status as a man.

He stuttered out," Well, um, yeah, but, you know those things break easily and- OOF!" he received a quick kick to the stomach, just inches up from his "pride". He was so thankful that Chie spared him, and collapsed to his knees.

Chie dusted off her hands, done with the two culprits," How's it going Rise?"

"Eh, fine. Oh, wait, now remember why I came!" Rise took out eight of what appeared to be movie tickets from her purse," I got tickets for all of us to go see a movie!"

Chie looked at her friend suspiciously," What do you mean by 'a movie'?"

"I-i mean a movie, that's all!" Rise gave a ticket to each of her friends," You better show up at the theater by 7:00 or I'll be mad! Bye-bye!"

Just as quick as she had appeared, she was gone. Yosuke, who had recovered form the painful blow, looked at the movie's title," 'Twilight'."

He promptly threw his ticket on the floor,"My friend thinks I like Twilight."

After a long akward pause, he proceeded back into the house," Well, friends, I have no understanding of this world anymore. I'm gonna go kill myself."

"Good luck," said Kanji jokingly, waving goodbye.

Chie went in the house after him with his ticket," Oh no, you're not! Rise looked like she really wanted us to go, so you go watch this crappy movie, dammit!"

By the time the girl had come to her senses she realized she had her friend by the shirt collar, holding his face up to hers. She felt his breath on her.

She quickly let him go, turning away to hide her slight blush, " Er...sorry. Anyway, come on! She had eight tickets, so obviously everyone's going!"

"But there's only seven of us," pointed out Yosuke, looking down at his stretched out collar.

"Nanako, duh," Chie walked out of the boy's house," You better show up! I'll pick you up at 7," she walked back down the sidewalk.

Kanji turned to Yosuke," Looks like you've got a date," he chuckled.

"Yeah..wait, what!?"

* * *

It was now 6:55 in Inaba. The sun was setting in the distance. At the newly built movie theater in the shopping district, Rise, Yukiko, Kanji, Naoto, Teddie and Nanako were all standing outside, along with Dojima, who had just dropped off Nanako. Twilight had been out in theaters for a few weeks, so there were no crowds.

Dojima walked back to his car, and said out the window," Make sure Nanako is returned home by the time your movie's over. If you have any problems, call me on your cell phone."

"I know, Dad!" responded Nanako cheerfully, happy she could spend time with her big bro's friends.

As Dojima drived away, Rise said," OK, let Operation 'Hook Up' begin!"

Kanji looked at Rise in surprise," H-hook up!? Who's hooking up?"

Teddie was still confused by the word,"Hook..up?"

"Think of 'scoring with a hot stud', and it'll come to you," explained Yukiko," Who're we hooking up, Rise-chan?"

"Who else isn't in this circle with us?" asked Rise.

As the other five looked at each other, they blatantly replied," Yosuke and Chie."

"Great! Now, here's the plan," Rise took out a piece of paper with drawings scrawled on it. The first was of them all in a group as stick figures, then a picture of what appeared to be of Yosuke and Chie then the next of them inside of a pink heart," We'll hide by the theater, then when they come, we'll all call and make up excuses to not be here, and when they're forced to see such a romantic movie together, they'll fall in LOVE."

The others, save for Nanako, sweatdropped at such a heart-sickening idea. Then, Naoto blurted out the most obvious statement ever.

"How do you know they won't just go back home? I mean, who_ likes _this movie?"

Rise's cheerful expression faded, and said," Oh. Well, crap."

" I think it's a great idea, Rise-chan!" said Nanako happily," It's like how people do it in movies!"

Rise looked down at nanako with affection," Thank you Nanako-chan, at least SOMEONE has hope for those two!"

Kanji almost fell over in disbelief," Come on, Nanako, how do you know this'll work? How any of us know if this'll work?"

" I know it'll work!" blurted out Teddie," The sheer happiness and love from being together, alone in a secluded section of a theater, the lights dimmed. A romantic kiss is performed onscreen, and the action is repeated by the watching friends, now officially lovers."

Kanji was visually moved, then shook it off to not appear girlish or feminine by any passerbys," T-that's it, I'm out!"

Yukiko called over to Kanji, who was walking away," Come on Kanji-kun, you don't know that it won't work! I mean, look at all the people hear who think it will!"

Before he had time to ponder, Kanji heard Rise yell in a shushed voice, "They're coming, they're coming!"

Rise scooted them all over behind the bushes and they watched the two friends.

* * *

Yosuke was standing outside of the theater with Chie. He looked at his watch. 7:03. Had they gone inside without them? Aw, what did he care? He hated Twilight, putting the badassness of vampires to shame. I mean, why do they SPARKLE? Wait, Teddie sparkled. WAS TEDDIE A VAMPIRE!?

_Hey, get that garbage out of your head! You have the girl of your dreams at your side, shouldn't that be enough?_

Yosuke heard his persona, Susano-o, from the deepest depths of his mind. He said back mentally," It's not what you think, man. We're just friends."

_You can't lie to me dude, I AM you!_

"Oh crap," he thought. He then heard Chie say something next to him, but he didn't hear," What?"

" I said, 'Do you think they went in without us?'," repeated Chie," I mean, what do I care? It's just Twilight."

_See? You both think alike._

" Just shut up," thought Yosuke to Susano-o.

Yosuke contemplated on what his persona said before. Girl of his dreams? He turned back to Chie, who was trying to contact Rise on the phone. She was still wearing the school uniform, but had on the jacket she'd usually wear on weekends, and she appeared to be wearing a light shade of lipstick, or lip balm.

_Focusing a bit on the lips much, ya think?_

Hearing Suano-o, he snapped back to his senses. What was he thinking? He never really noticed what Chie wore before, or cared much for whether or not she wore lipstick. However, he knew for a fact that he cared very deeply about her. He was still pondering over whether the emotions he were sorting out were feelings of friendship or perhaps something deeper..

"Earth to Yosuke..." Yosuke saw Chie waving her hand in front of his face," Rise said she had to go help out at the shop, Kanji's working on his doll business right now, and Naoto's doing homework. Strange, she usually finishes it in seconds."

"Have you tried Teddie?" asked Yosuke," Wait, I'll do it."

Yosuke called Teddie's phone, only to hear Teddie's ringtone emitting from a bush to his left. From the bush, he heard a hushed voice," I thought we agreed all phones on vibrate for this mission!"

"I'm sorry, Rise-chan, but isn't it catchy?"

"I swear, this is the dumbest bear I've ever met."

"Kanji-kun!"

"What? Just saying what comes to mind."

"Um, team? It looks as if we've been discovered."

Yosuke was looking down at all of his missing friends and Nanako, all crouched behind a bush," There you are!"

Rise looked sheepishly at the two," Um, hi guys! How was Twilight!"

Naoto sighed," Our operation is a complete failure, all from the sound of a ringtone."

Teddie responded," But it IS catchy, isn't it?"

"Not catchy enought to escape the akwardness of this moment," Naoto said, shaking her head.

There was complete silence for a few seconds, until Chie said," What operation?"

Rise tried her cest to not spill the beans, but after a quick interrogation, gave the sheet of paper wth the pictures on them to Yosuke.

"OK, here's all of us outside the movie theater," explained Yosuke to Chie, who was looking at the pictures as well," Then here's one of us alone. Then here's one of- Woah!"

Yosuke felt his heart skip a had drawn him and Chie inside of a colorful heart, holding hands," What's this crap!?"

Yukiko covered Nanako's ears," There is a child present!"

Nanako removed Yukiko's hands, saying," It's OK, I'm used to it. Dad does it all the time."

Yosuke continued," But why did you draw this, Rise-chan? WHY!?"

_Oh, don't act like you don't appreciate it!_

"I don't have time for this!" thought Yosuke to Susano-o. Truly, he was flattered by the drawing, but he was worried about what Chie was thinking. Did she feel flattered too, or was she humored by it? Or did she feel nothing at all for it?

"Oh, fine, I'll tell you," Rise said, giving up. In vivid detail she explained her plot to 'hook up' Yosuke with Chie in an attemt to see them happy together.

"H-happy?" Chie repeated, her face flushed," What do you mean by 'happy'?"

" You know, lovey-dovey happy!" Rise explained," The kind of happy you feel when you wake up next to the person you love every day, then remember they'll be with you till the day you die!"

Yosuke said," OK, that's a little too happy- I-i mean that's a little too MUCH, don't you think?"

_Nice save, lover boy._

Chie sighed, then said," Look, Rise-chan, Yosuke and I are happy with the way things are right now. I know I do."

REALLY? Yosuke felt his heart sink a little. Something deep inside him told him she was lying, but she sounded to true to be lying. She was even smiling. He tried to hide his dissapointment as best as he could.

Rise was also visually disturbed," Oh, really?" Then suddenly, her expression changed back to her usual cheerful self," Oh, REALLY?"

Yosuke watched as Rise dug in her purse, and took out a CD. It was in a generic case, and had the words "The Beatles" on it in red Sharpie. Se handed it to him," Here."

He accepted it," Um, thanks. Why'd you give me a CD?"

"Look Hanamura, if you feel nothing for Chie-senpai, then listen to this."

Yosuke tried to give it back to Rise," Sorry, Rise-chan, but I own an iPod, not a CD-"

Rise pulled on his earphone wire and the wire led to a CD player, myseriously tucked in a large side pocket at the side of his thigh. She glared at him fiercly, and said," You can't fool me."

She put the CD in the player, but idn't press play," Listen to that when you're walking Chie home, okay, Yosuke-senpai?"

"What!?" Yosuke protested," Who said I was taking her home?"

"Well, her house is on the way to yours, so you might as well!" Rise explained," Have fun!"

* * *

Yosuke and Chie were quiet on the way back. There was a heaviness in the air, and it would seem akward if he tried to start up a conversation. Something inside him told him to play the CD. He took out the case, and on a piece of papr inside, countless tracks were listed. he played the first one, named "Good Day Sunshine". However, before pressing play, he offered one of the earphones to Chie," Wanna listen?"

Yosuke saw that Chie still felt akward from the tme at the theater, but accepted it and put it in her ear. Yosuke pressed play and heard a piano intro.

_Good day sunshine  
Good day sunshine  
Good day sunshine_

_I need to laugh, and when the sun is out_  
_I've got something I can laugh about_  
_I feel good, in a special way_  
_I'm in love and it's a sunny day_

Yosuke felt the akwardness in the air mysteriously disappear. he looked back at the title of the CD: The Beatles. Did this mysterious music have special powers? He looked at Chie, and a bit of the akwardness came back as they realized they'd' stared at each other for a few seconds. However, that akwardness disappeared as music continued to play through their earpones.

_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_

_We take a walk, the sun is shining down_  
_Burns my feet as they touch the ground_

Yosuke then realized something: He was feeling warmer than usual, as if the sun was still shining down on them. However, the sun had already set in the distance. he looked back at Chie, and noticed she was fanning herself from the illusion of heat.

_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_

_Then we lie beneath a shady tree_  
_I love her and she's loving me_  
_She feels good, she know she's looking fine_  
_I'm so proud to know that she is mine_

Yosuke looked at the other end of the street and saw a large tree with branches drooping: perfest for lying in the shade on sunny days. He then contemplated on the lyrics: It said that they lay beneath a shady tree feeling...things. He seemed a bit troubled with this, and with a brief glance at Chie, she looked a bit troubled too, and embarrased. She probably would've walked a little faster if she wasn't in need of joyful music right now.

_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_  
_Good day sunshine_

Yosuke was expecting the next song to play, but he was now standing outside of Chie's house all of a sudden. He must not've noticed where he was going. Chie had taken off the earphone and was outside her front door. "That was...interesting," she said," Let's do it again sometime, 'Kay?"

Yosuke was standing there akwardly for a few seconds, then turned around to go home. He tried to play more songs from the wonderful CD. It had lifted the heaviness of the atmosphere from the walk, and it made Chie more wary of him and possibly his feelings. But alas, it seemed the surface was scratched, and would play very rarely. He walked the rest of the way home, humming the melody to "Good Day Sunshine".


	2. Twist & Shout

**5/6 2012**

**Weather: Sunny**

**School Day**

**Time: After School**

Only five more days until Souji was coming back to Inaba, and his friends would receive the best surprise ever. But, Yosuke wasn't concerned with his friend that moment. Yesterday, he had heard some of the most beautiful music to ever grace his CD player. He was currently sitting at the usual table at Junes, awaiting his friends to return with their food. Yosuke hadn't wanted any. Only 12 hours since he heard "Good Day Sunshine", and he had grown an obsession.

"Come on, come on!" muttered Yosuke under his breath, repetitively pressing the player's "Play" button, awaiting a response.

_Give it up, dude, it's broken._

"I will not!" Yosuke yelled mentally," Besides, you're in my head, so you could've heard the music. Wasn't it great?"

Hey, I have hobbies, too! I'm allowed to do stuff other than listen to whatever's playing on the old CD player.

"Liar," Yosuke said mentally.

_Oh, god I'm lonely_.

Yosuke put the CD back in his player as his friends returned to the table, carrying plastic trays of steak, noodles, and other various foods.

"Let's eat!" cried Kanji happily, about to stuff his face.

"Any luck with the disc?" asked Chie, about to chow down as well.

"Nothing," sighed Yosuke sadly," I've tried toothpaste, peanut butter: I even spent my paycheck on that fancy cleaning spray but nothing works!"

Chie threw her head back and sighed as well," I can't believe you spent this much time taking care of a scratched disc but not give a second thought on MY DVDs!"

"Will you shut up about the DVDs already?" yelled Yosuke loudly, slightly annoyed," Look, we both know last night was a great experience, but I'm trying everything to see if that can be repeated!"

_Nice word choice, kiddo._

"What're you talking about?" Yosuke asked his persona.

_Look around you._

Yosuke looked at his friends and saw their shocked faces. Kanji had half a steak sticking out of his mouth, but hadn't bothered swallowing. Yukiko was stifling another laughing fit. Rise had a surprised look on her face, as well, and was laughing nervously. Naoto's jaw looked as if it'd hit the floor. Teddie hadn't been bothered, but after staring at everyone's faces, tried to mock them to not stick out.

Chie, obviously embarrassed, said," Hey, why'd you make it come out all wrong? 'Wonderful experience'?"

Yosuke let out a nervous laugh," Anyway, we both know that we want to listen to the CD more, so don't complain."

"Why don't you just ask Rise for information on the band?" suggested Chie.

Yosuke almost smacked himself on the head. How could he've not thought of that?

"Well, Rise-chan, what do you know about The Beatles?"

Rise pushed her now-empty ramen bowl away from her and looked in the sky as if to perform a flashback," Well…"

_______

* * *

_

_It was 2010, the peak of Rise's career. She was currently on a tour in America, performing small concerts to benefit orphans. Rise remembered she had heard of the Beatles after performing a concert in Los Angeles, and was returning to her hotel, on foot. She was adept in English now, and often conversed with many fans._

As she walked down the street, she heard a song playing from a radio outside of a record store.

_If I give my heart to you  
I must be sure  
From the very start  
That you would love me more than her_

"What this?" she wondered. She walked over to the radio. There were no signs showcasing a new album or anything. She walked inside the store.

The walls were lined with albums, and aisles of shelves with albums, all crammed together. This didn't seem like a record store, but more like the bedroom of a person with an obsession with the old rock groups. She saw an old-looking man with grayed brown hair tending the counter, and she approached him.

"Excuse me," she said," I was wondering what song's playing on the radio outside your door."

The man looked kind, and responded," Sorry, sweetie, but I'm not psychic. If you can give me some words from it, I can give you the song's name in the blink of an eye!" The man had a British accent.

She, slightly embarrassed, repeated the lyrics as best as she could. The old man looked surprised but pleased.

"Aaah, so you like the Beatles," the old man said slowly, grinning.

"Ummm, who?" Rise said.

The old man explained to her that in the 60's, an English rock group named the Beatles formed, and became known as the best band in the world by many people of many ages, genders, and races, and anyone who disagreed might as well be blowing their eardrums out with their Jonas Brothers and their Souljia Boy ( This was all the old man's opinion.).

"I have the whole collection in my store," said the old man," Looking to buy?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't have a record player," Rise answered sadly," Sorry."

The old man's smile drooped, but he perked up almost instantaneously and said," Tell you what. I'll sell you my _own_ record player. Whaddya say?"

"Geez, do you own another one?" asked Rise.

"Nope. I've kept the same one for the last 50 years, and I'd never trade it. However, Something seems… strange about you. You know, that Indian mantra sort of feeling."

Rise felt a bit of strangeness from the man," Well, first can I at least learn your name? I'd feel bad if I took something from someone I didn't know."

The old man flashed a smile," Paul. And yes, _I _was the walrus."

"Huh?"

"Listen to Magical Mystery Tour, you'll get it."

Rise hesitantly bought the old man's record player, and the whole collection of Beatles albums. The next day, she played her new albums, and the second she heard them, she fell in love. She contemplated on maybe covering one of these songs for one of her performances, but she resolved to not taint the musical quality by overlapping it with her own (stupid Jonas Brothers…). Later, she downloaded all of the Beatles songs onto her computer and burned them all onto a CD with an extremely high capacity.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Rise concluded her story with," And now you all know I'm a sucker for the oldies."

Kanji was just staring," Whoa…You've been to LA?"

Everyone almost fell over in their chairs, seeing that kanji completely missed the point.

"Well, I think it's wonderful you've grown to appreciate music," Naoto said, bowing her head slightly," I mean, it's better than the other crap being played in America. "

Yosuke asked," So does this music have any special powers? Does it cause illusions? Possibly create the illusion of sunshine?"

Rise looked over at Yosuke," What? Of course not, like that could happen!"

"Excuse me," a voice was behind Naoto.

Everyone looked over to it and saw Dojima, carrying his jacket over his shoulder with one hand, a briefcase in the other, and a cigarette in his mouth.

"Oh, hi, Dojima-san," Naoto greeted," What brings you here?"

" I just need a favor," the middle-aged man explained," I need to go to the prefectural office, and I won't be able to come back in a few days."

"Is there another serious case?" asked Chie," Nothing serious has happened in some time."

"It's nothing for you kids to worry about," sighed Dojima, looking tired from possibly doing paperwork all day and night," Look, just hear me out. I haven't had to leave Nanako home alone in a long time, and I'm worried to do it again.," Dojima paused, looking slightly embarrassed," I was wondering if a couple of you guys could stay over at the house and take care of Nanako until I come back. Besides, she needs the company."

Yosuke raised his hand in a military salute, as he'd done the other day over the phone," You can count on us, Dojima-san!"

Dojima looked relieved, and a faint smile formed in his mouth, which still held a cigarette," Great. Come over to my house before I leave at 8:00."

He walked away from the table, and the conversations continued.

"We're going to Nana-chan's place?" asked Teddie," Can we spend the night!?"

"Well, Dojima-san did say he was going to be gone for a couple of days," Yosuke winked at the others," I guess it's OK if we stay a few nights."

"Yay! Sleepover!"

* * *

Everyone had left the food court at 5:00 to get ready to stay at Dojima's house. Rise and Yosuke were the first to be dropped off, so Rise started a conversation to pass the time.

"So, is it true?" she asked mysteriously.

Yosuke turned away from meddling with the CD player for a second," What's true?"

"That you like Chie-senpai!"

Yosuke felt his face warm up a bit," Would you stop talking about that, I thought we settled this! I feel nothing for her, and she feels nothing for me."

"You're lying through your teeth mister!" accused Rise," If you want to say it, say it already, no one's around!"

But Yosuke had had enough from Rise. He turned his back on her and meddled with the disc once again.

"Why won't it play!?" he screamed in agony in his head. He slid on his regular orange headphones and tried desperately to make it work. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He slid his headphones back to his neck," Yes, Rise-chan?"

"Yosuke-senpai, I just wanted to say that I think-" before Rise could finish, Yosuke covered her mouth. The CD Player was working!

_She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah  
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah  
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah_

On the track listing on the front of his player, Yosuke found the song was name "She Loves You", and it was Track…49? Where were 2 through 48? The player was at full volume, so Rise heard the song, too.

"That's weird," she said.

"What's weird?" asked Yosuke, glad that the music was back with him, but suspicious of the strange track gap.

"Those words. I was just about to tell them to you," explained Rise," Must be my imagination."  
Yosuke felt a cold sweat down his back. He thought about it: The CD had never played all day, and when Rise was just about to say something, it plays a song 48 tracks away from the last one played? He needed to lie down, this was too much. The CD seemed to be psychic.

A car pulled up, and out came Naoto, Yukiko, Chie, Kanji… but no Teddie.

"Sorry we're late," apologized Yukiko," But Naoto got this great idea that we should all carpool!"

"It helps the environment," explained Naoto," Where's Teddie?"

Rise turned to Yosuke," Yeah, where is that little fluff ball?"

Yosuke shrugged," How am I supposed to know? He left before me. All I remember is a flash of blonde hair entering and leaving the house."

The front door opened and Dojima came out," Wow, all of you are here? I only asked for a few of you. Oh well, Nanako's going to be happy you're… all here."

An awkward silence befell the group, in memory of Souji, who'd left Inaba a couple of months ago to return home. Yosuke looked over at Yukiko. She and Souji had become a couple a few months into his time here. At that moment, love seemed so fragile, so easy to break.

Dojima continued," Well, um, anyway, I'm off. Make sure she eats dinner and is put to bed by 9:00. Oh yeah, and you'll all sleep in the spare room."

The room that Souji had.

Dojima drove away, and everyone waved goodbye before entering the house. Nanako was watching TV, and a familiar blonde haired boy was next to her.

"Teddie, how the hell did you get in here!?" cried Yosuke," We were worried you wouldn't come!"

Teddie had a surprised look on his face," And leave Nana-chan all alone? Never! I just came early to hang out with Nana-chan a little longer before you guys came!"

Yosuke sighed," Oh well. Everyone got their sleeping bags?"

"Yep," they all responded, holding duffel bags, rolled up sleeping bags, and suitcases.

"Then let's get this shindig on the road!" cried Teddie," I even brought the perfect party game for the crowd like us! Ta-da!"

Teddie reached into his bag and pulled out a polka-dot colored box. It was named infamous throughout the world of party games. It's made children cry, and men shiver at night. It was Twister.

" A very kind looking man said this was perfect to play with friends!" explained Teddie happily," He also mentioned it helping people 'hook up' in rare cases!"

Yosuke felt as if a weight fell on his head. He had enough of hooking up for one day. He started thinking about repressing all these memories when he was older.

The sound of Yukiko's voice snapped Yosuke out of his pondering," Teddie, are you sure we can all fit on the mat? I mean, there's 8 of us here!"

"Oh contraire!" replied Teddie, wagging his finger," We need someone to spin the wheel!"

Yosuke didn't want anything to do with this game, so shot his hand up, and said-

"Can I spin it?" Nanako asked, with her hand up and a hopeful look on her face.

Crap! Yosuke seriously didn't want to play. If Chie had been spinning the wheel instead, he might've joined in, but now, nu- uh. No way he was making awkward positions on that colorful mat with all six of his friends .

He raised his hand again," No way, Nanako, you go play, and I'LL spin the wheel."

He felt a sharp sting on the back of his head," Ow!"

He looked back and saw Chie," Are you crazy!? If we all fall while SHE'S playing, she'll be crushed, especially by Kanji!"

Kanji looked offended," Hey, what're you implying!?"

Chie simply turned to him and said," Trial of the Dragon II, Kanji."

Kanji slinked back down on the couch, his face pale. It seemed Yosuke had no choice: play Twister, or pay for Nanako' hospital bills when she's inevitably crushed under the weight of six teenagers. He helped Kanji move the table from the carpet so Teddie could lay down the mat. Nanako took hold of the colorful wheel with the spinner and sat on the couch. Yosuke looked down at the mat: 4 vertical rows of the colors red, blue, green, and yellow, and 6 horizontal rows. That made 24 spots. 7 players, four limbs each, that meant an extra four spots would be needed to play. Or, he could just-

"No", said Rise simply. Just as Yosuke was about to respond, Rise said," We changed the rules, so now people can share spots!"

Share?

"OK, let the game begin!" cried Teddie," Who goes first, Nana-chan?"

"Teddie!" said Nanako gleefully, just happy she had the company of so many of her big bro's friends.

She spun the wheel," Left foot, blue!"

Teddie placed his foot on the corresponding color, and looked around," No one else is playing. Does Teddie win?"

Kanji put his face in his palm," No, idiot, we have to be called too to play!"

Nanako pointed at Kanji," Your turn!"

"Wait, no way I'm getting near that bear!"

* * *

A few minutes had passed, and everyone was in a crazy position on the mat. Teddie was stuck on the edge of the mat, all four limbs on a green spot. He seemed to have amazing balance, as he hadn't budged since. Kanji had lost his balance from how close his limbs were to each other, and was eliminated. Rise had been disqualified for running off the mat to go to the bathroom. Naoto and Yukiko were in a knot near the other edge of the mat, and Chie and Yosuke were in pretty…awkward position. Chie had flipped into a crabwalk position and her back was to the mat. Yosuke's limbs were on parts of the mat just outside Chie's and was…how could I say this? Oh, I'll just say it. They were basically on top of each other, face to face. Chie's face was red from humiliation, and Yosuke flashed a sheepish grin.

Looks like you're in a pretty nice position, dude.

" Shut up!" Yosuke said to Susano-o, trying to dismiss him," Damn. If Souji could just rid himself of a persona, why can't I?"

Nanako spun the spinner again for Chie's turn," Left foot, green!"

"B-but that's impossible!" argued Chie," I'm completely shut off here! HE'S in the way!"

Rise looked amused, and cheered her on," Come on, Chie-senpai, you can do it! Just forget that you have a man right on top of you!"

No one had stared awkwardly at Rise, because her words were true. Chie DID have a man right on top of her. But just as she was about to move her foot, she heard music emit from Yosuke's headphones.

________

_Well, shake it up, baby, now, (shake it up, baby)  
Twist and shout. (twist and shout)  
C'mon c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, baby, now, (come on baby)  
Come on and work it on out. (work it on out)_

Well, work it on out, honey. (work it on out)  
You know you look so good. (look so good)  
You know you got me goin, now, (got me goin'')

_Just like I knew you would. (like I knew you would, oooh!)_

Well, shake it up, baby, now, (shake it up, baby)  
Twist and shout. (twist and shout)  
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, baby, now, (come on baby)  
Come on and work it all out. (work it all out, oooh!)

"Why're you playing your music all of a sudden!?" asked Chie, surprised from the loud volume from Yosuke's headphones.

Yosuke shook his head," Y-you've got it all wrong! The CD's magic, I tell ya! MAGIC!"

________

_You know you're a twisty little girl, (twist little girl)  
You know you twist so fine. (twist so fine)  
Come on and twist a little closer, now, (twist a little closer)  
And let me know that you're mine. (let me know you're mine oooh)_

Chie felt her face going red. She tried to turn away from her friend. However, something was happening. Wait a minute, was he getting

closer? Wait a minute, she was! It didn't matter who, she just wanted out. Appropriately, she tried to twist around (unsuccessfully) and shouted

when Yosuke toppled on top of her. Yosuke's headphones became unplugged and The Beatles graced the Dojima household with their musical presence.

________

_Ahhhhhhhhhh(root) Ahhhhhhhhhh(third) Ahhhhhhhhhh(fifth) Ahhhhhhhhhhh(seventh) Ahhhhh Ahhhhh Whoa, Yeah_

Well, shake it up, baby, now, (shake it up, baby)  
Twist and shout. (twist and shout)  
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, baby, now, (come on baby)  
Come on and work it on out. (work it on out, woo!)

Kanji was covering his ears in agony," Turn it off, it's too friggin loud!"

However, it seemed Rise was enjoying herself. She started dancing to her favorite group's beat and Nanako had joined in too. It seemed Teddie's Twister game had turned into a twisting party (Get it? Twist?)

_You know you're a twisty little girl, (twist little girl)  
You know you twist so fine. (twist so fine)  
Come on and twist a little closer, now, (twist a little closer)  
And let me know that you're mine. (let me know you're mine, woo!)_

Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now. (shake it up baby)  
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now. (shake it up baby)  
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby, now. (shake it up baby)  
Ahhhhhhhhhh(low) Ahhhhhhhhhh(higher) Ahhhhhhhhhh(higher) Ah!(high)

With the cymbal crash at the end, Rise had come back to her senses.

"Whew!" she sighed, tired from dancing," That was fun, wasn't it guys?"

"Yeah!" cried Nanako," Let's do it again sometime!"

Rise turned her attention back to the game of Twister. Kanji, Yukiko, Naoto, and Teddie crowded around Yosuke and Chie.

"You OK, Chie?" asked Yukiko, a playful smile on her face," Or would you rather stay that way?"

Chie opened her eyes, and saw Yosuke above her. He hadn't moved much, but was only pushing himself up with his arms to avoid being directly on top. Rise had taken out her phone and snapped a picture.

Seeing the camera flash, Chie immediately threw Yosuke off her and stood on the mat," What were you thinking, man!? Why did you slip!?"

"It's not my fault, it was the socks, they're slippery!"

"You get your ass over here, bub! You're gonna shout when I twist your ankle!"

"Nice word play, Chie-chan!" added Teddie," You forgot the 'and', though."

The other six watched as Chie chased Yosuke around the house. Nothing was broken yet, but they heard the back door slam a few times, meaning their chase had gone outside as well. After five grueling minutes, Yosuke opened the front door and dragged himself over to the couch, collapsing on top. He breathed heavily and was drenched with sweat. Chie followed in as well. She had grass in her hair, possibly from slipping, and collapsed next to him.

"Once I…get my… breath back…you're…DEAD," huffed Chie," Naoto-kun, what time is it?"

The girl in the boy's uniform looked at her watch," It's exactly…9:32."

"That late?" gasped Chie," Oh my god, she hasn't even had dinner!"

Nanako yawned, stretching," It's OK, guys, I'll just go to bed without dinner," she went up the stairs to her room," 'Night."

"Night," the others repeated.

Yosuke stood back up, yawning," yeah, we should probably head up to the room now."

Chie stood up abruptly and protested," No way! I demand separate rooms; one for boys, one for girls!"

"Aaaw!" Teddie groaned," But there's no other rooms!"

"That's not true," argued Chie," We have the living room right here, and Dojima-san's room."

"Chie's right!" agreed Rise," I don't think I'd trust any of you guys during the night. Especially Teddie."

Teddie looked offended," Rise-chan! Why would you dare accuse Teddie of such a thing!?"

After a small argument between Rise and Teddie, the rooms had been set up. Guys would sleep upstairs, girls would go in the living room.

As Yosuke lay down on his sleeping bag, he was just happy the rough night was over. But as he was about to sleep, he heard a voice in his mind. And it wasn't Susano-o.

Hmmm, that's strange. I haven't played a junction like this before.

The voice seemed very familiar, laced with a British accent. He couldn't quite grasp it, but he knew he heard it recently.

Yoko? Paul? George? Ringo? Oh, well, might as well try to find company. Oh, hello, sir. My my, I wish I owned a blue suit like that.

Susano-o: Yosuke, who the hell's this?

Of course, how could he not see this before!?

The voice was that of _John Lennon. _


	3. All You Need Is Love

**EDIT! **_There were some missing words and grammar problems last time, so I've edited it to sound more clear and (hopefully) make more sense. Enjoy!_

* * *

****

5/6 2012

**Weather: Sunny**

**School Day**

**Time: Evening**

Yosuke's head felt as if it was cracked from all of the confusion. How could John Lennon be talking to him? WHY was he talking to him? Also, to top it all off, was he… _a persona_?

He decided to try to communicate," Um, Mr. Lennon?"

_Huh, who's there? Is it the paparazzi? The press…Chapman?_

"No no no, Mr. Lennon, my name is Yosuke Hanamura, you're living in my head."

_Hanamura? Sounds Japanese. You know a Yoko around here, Hanamoola?_

"It's Hanamura, and the empty space around you is, apparently, the inside of my skull," explained Yosuke, himself being confused the most.

_Whoa, I don't know what was in that bag, but it works nice! I wonder if I have more…_

Yosuke sighed with exasperation. John wasn't listening. There was only one way to find out if all this was real. Yosuke turned towards the Dojimas' TV set. It seemed large enough. With a quick leap, he hopped into the television, following a black and white rectangular tunnel.

* * *

"OOF!" Yosuke had fallen on something soft…grass. He looked around him," Whoa…"

The TV World was completely different. Mountains peaked with fluffy white snow were in the distance. Pine trees formed vast forests in front of him. He looked to his left and recognized a pond he had viewed when he saw this version of the world for the first time, still sparkling in the light of the gentle sun. It was all so beautiful…

Yosuke quickly shook himself out of his daydreaming. He had to do this quick, before someone noticed he was missing.

"PERSONA!" he cried. He recognized the blue card in front of him. Susano-o wasn't on it though: it was a photo of a man with long ragged-looking brown hair with rounded glasses and a beard. Something told him this was John.

He shattered the card with his fist, as his knives were absent. The shattered card fragments swirled together, taking the form of an average-sized man. More details appeared, and in front of Yosuke was a 40 or so man in a brown overcoat, white undershirt, the same hair, beard, and glasses from the photo, and a curious expression on his face. Yosuke felt as if he was greeted by a god (a god of music).

"Where am I?" asked John, looking at his peaceful surroundings," Is this…Nirvana?"

Yosuke said to the man," Um, no sir. I'm Yosuke Hanamura, and this is all a world inside the TV."

John let out a laugh," God, I'm stoned. How am I supposed to believe that?"

Yosuke sighed once more, filled with frustration. This guy just wasn't getting it. Not once had he met a Persona with such a childish and lighthearted attitude. Wait. Does he know any skills? Yosuke delved into his mind for any skills the British activist might know. He was only greeted with a loud wall of music. Was THIS his skill? MUSIC? THAT would explain a lot, then. What if he said a song name? Would John sing?

Yosuke got out the song list found in the CD case. He said the title," Yellow Submarine!"

"Say what?" said the man," A request? Well, I'll be happy to oblige."

With a snap of his fingers, a stage came up, with John in the front, along with three copies of Paul, Ringo, and George. Mysteriously, the copies of the other Beatles were in black and white, and they were…younger.

_In the town where I was born,  
Lived a man who sailed to sea,  
And he told us of his life,  
In the land of submarines,_

_So we sailed on to the sun,_  
_Till we found the sea green,_  
_And we lived beneath the waves,_  
_In our yellow submarine,_

"W-WHOA!" Yosuke felt the grass underneath him lower, and become saturated with green foamy sewater. Yosuke ran to the tage and watched as the forest landscape reformed into an ocean view. The pine trees transformed into seagulls that took flight in flocks of white cloud-like groups. The mountains in the background turned into the silhouette of a small fishing community, hidden by a layer of thick fog. Just the sight of fog made Yosuke sick to his stomach.

_We all live in yellow submarine,_  
_yellow submarine, yellow submarine,_  
_We all live in yellow submarine,_  
_yellow submarine, yellow submarine._

_And our friends are all aboard,_  
_Many more of them live next door,_  
_And the band begins to play._

_(Trumpets play)_

_We all live in yellow submarine,_  
_yellow submarine, yellow submarine,_  
_We all live in yellow submarine,_  
_yellow submarine, yellow submarine._

Yosuke turned from the sight of the surfacing submarine back to J- what the hell was he wearing? It seemed that mysteriously, John had changed into a naval officer's uniform and his friends were dressed as sailors. John and the bass player held two Dixie cups with a string connecting them and conversed in navy speak.

_(Full speed ahead, Mr. Barkley, full speed ahead!_  
_Full speed over here, sir!_  
_All together! All together!_  
_Aye, aye, sir, fire!_  
_Captain! Captain!)_

_As we live a life of ease(life of ease)_  
_Every one of us(every one of us) has all we need,(has all we need)_  
_Sky of blue,(sky of blue) and sea green,(sea of green)_  
_In our yellow(In our yellow) submarine.(submarine) ( Haha! )_

_We all live in yellow submarine,_  
_yellow submarine, yellow submarine,_  
_We all live in yellow submarine,_  
_yellow submarine, yellow submarine._

_(fading)_

_We all live in yellow submarine,_  
_yellow submarine, yellow submarine,_  
_We all live in yellow submarine,_  
_yellow submarine, yellow submarine._

John bowed," I hope we passed the audition everybody." The ocean, in a enormous puff of smoke, transformed back into the original meadow and forest.

As John walked off the stage, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke as well," I've gotten a lot of requests lately. 'Good Day Sunshine', 'She Loves You', and 'Twist and Shout'! My throat is still hurting from that one…"

Yosuke felt as if a truckload of information was dropped on top of him. He gathered all of the evidence together:

1) The CD was scratched, and therefore, would be impossible to play.

2) When the CD DID play, it would be a song appropriate to the situation.

3) Songs played had almost magical effects on listening individuals (e.g., him and Chie experiencing heat from listening to Good Day Sunshine.)

After he gathered all of this, he said to John the implausible truth," Mr. Lennon, I hate to break this to you, but you've been living in a scratched CD as a spirit, and are now a part of my mind set as a Persona."

There was heavy silence for a few minutes. Finally, John broke it with a hearty stoner laugh.

"Y-you've got some pretty good jokes, kid!" laughed the rock star," I wish I had your gift for comedy!"

Tired with John not believing him, Yosuke called the Persona of John Lennon back into his body. He could hear John's shock from being dismissed back into the boy's body.

_What is this!? I've had pot-induced nightmares, but this is the worst!_

"After you wake up in the morning, you'll know this is reality," explained Yosuke.

Yosuke was just about to leave when he realized a fatal flaw in his plan:

**HE NEEDED TEDDIE TO LEAVE THE TV.**

" WHAT THE HELL!!??" he cried out.

_Looks like you're in a bit of a pickle._

Yosuke heard John's voice," Oh, it's you."

_Listen, kid, I've been going over what you've been saying. At first, I was laughing my ass off at the idea of ME living in a CD! But then, I realized I hadn't had a joint in over 30 days. I'm sober. So, I guess I might as well give this 'Persona' thing a try._

Yosuke felt the warmth of a smile from John, though he couldn't see it," Thanks, man. But I have a problem. I can't leave! I'm gonna die in here, and there's nothing I can do."

He heard John sigh. He could sense him thinking. Suddenly, he heard John cry out," _I got it!_"

_Kid- I mean, Yosuke, say the name," All You Need Is Love"._

"What the- How will this help?"

_Say. The Name. I have a plan._

Yosuke could feel John was serious.

Obediently, Yosuke cried out fiercely," All You Need Is Love!"

"Wow, that was lame," he thought to himself immediately afterwards.

The stage appeared once again, and John and his grayscale friends graced it once again, and this time, they had flowers in their hair. There was also the addition of an orchestra surrounding the stage. He heard the sound of trumpets play as the song begun.

_Love, Love, Love.  
Love, Love, Love.  
Love, Love, Love._

_There's nothing you can do that can't be done._  
_Nothing you can sing that can't be sung._  
_Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game._  
_It's easy._

_Nothing you can make that can't be made.  
No one you can save that can't be saved.  
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.  
It's easy._

_  
_Suddenly, Yosuke felt the nature around him melt away. He could now feel a connection with the real world. Whatever John was doing, it was working._  
_

_All you need is love.  
All you need is love.  
All you need is love, love.  
Love is all you need._

Yosuke almost felt a tear from his eye. Come on, Hanamura, be a man! But the music this time was…different. The past times music played, it seemed like silly pop music. This, however, was the real deal. This was the musical genius of The Beatles at work!

_All you need is love._  
_All you need is love._  
_All you need is love, love._  
_Love is all you need._

In front of him, Yosuke could see a portal slowly forming. It wasn't made of stacked TV's though, it was made of…hearts? How appropriate. He suddenly felt someone looking at him. He turned behind him and saw on top the hill, a the figure of a person. From afar, he couldn't recognize who it was, but he knew it was familiar…

_Nothing you can know that isn't known._  
_Nothing you can see that isn't shown._  
_Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be._  
_It's easy._

_All you need is love._  
_All you need is love._  
_All you need is love, love._  
_Love is all you need._

Onstage, John was signaling Yosuke to come onstage. Yosuke ran onstage, and John gave him a microphone.

"What's this?" asked Yosuke.

"Join us! It's not love unless we all pitch in!" said John, smiling warmly.

Yosuke nodded his head. He was feeling a faint bond forming between him and John.

_All you need is love (All together, now!)  
All you need is love. (Everybody!)  
All you need is love, love.  
Love is all you need (love is all you need)  
(love is all you need) (love is all you need)  
(love is all you need) Yesterday (love is all you need)  
(love is all you need) (love is all you need)_

_Yee-hai!_  
_Oh yeah!_  
_love is all you need, love is all you need, love is all you need, love is all you need, oh yeah oh hell yea! love is all you need love is all you need love is all you need._

The song ended, and the portal was complete, formed with a border of pink hearts. Inside was not a swirling red and black vortex, but bright light, signifying hope. He stepped through, and was thrown back into the real world.

* * *

CRASH!

"What the hell!?" groaned Kanji," Who's there!?"

Kanji got up and saw on the floor a pained Yosuke," Yosuke-senpai? You all right?"

Yosuke tried to bring himself to his feet," I-I'm fine. Just stretching!"

"How'd you do that?" Yosuke asked his new persona, John.

_Weren't you listening? All you need is love._

"You go back to bed," reassured Yosuke, now upright," I'm OK."

Kanji looked worried," Um, OK, then. But you better not start whining if some psycho breaks in and you need to pitch in, ai'ght?"

Kanji went back to his sleeping bag, and Yosuke did the same. He dug into his pocket and took out the scratched CD. He wouldn't need this anymore, now that the source of the music live in his head, but something inside him told him keep it. Yosuke lay down in his bag. He knew he'd sleep well tonight.


	4. Here, There and Everywhere

**5/7 2012**

**Weather: Sunny**

**School Day**

**Time: Early Morning**

Chie had awoken from her slumber. As she stood up from her bed, she realized something…she remembered being at the Dojimas in a sleeping bag. Now, she was in her bed at home, which was, even more surprisingly, clean. Suddenly, she felt the floor underneath her disappear.

"W-WHOA!" she yelled.

She instinctively grabbed onto her bed's framing. It wasn't going to suffice. She felt her hand start to sweat. She was about to slip into the darkness, but she suddenly heard…music. A flash of blinding, yet pleasant light emitted from within the dark abyss below her.

_All you need is love.  
All you need is love.  
All you need is love, love.  
Love is all you need. _

_All you need is love._  
_All you need is love._  
_All you need is love, love._  
_Love is all you need._

Chie felt a warm embrace. She closed her eyes and let herself fall into a deep sleep. That sleep, however, was interrupted by a bump on the head.

"OW!" she cried. As she rubbed her head, she saw around her a wonderful paradise of nature. She recognized it as the reformed TV World. What was this? She walked forward and heard faint music. The same that saved her from the darkness. She ran over a hill and saw a stage. On it were four men playing guitar and drums, and surrounding the stage was an orchestra. It was impossible. How could someone else be in this world? As she continued forward, she saw a familiar person. It was a boy, about her age, with brown hair. Looked a little like an idiot. He wore the school uniform, had orange headphones- OH MY GOD, IT WAS YOSUKE!

Where'd he come from!? Why did _he_, of all people appear in her dreams? He turned towards her and, recognizing her, winked at her. She felt someone shaking her, and awoke.

* * *

Chie almost leapt from her bag," Huh? Who's there?" She looked to her side and saw Yukiko," Oh, hey, Yukiko. What is it?"

"We got to get ready for school Chie," sighed Yukiko," You've been sleeping like a log for the past 30 minutes!"

Chie stood up and looked around for a clock," What time is it?"

"It's 7:30," replied Yukiko, standing back up," You'd better hurry, everyone's already left."

Chie got up from her sleeping bag and proceeded to the bathroom. The dream was so…strange. First of all, she had never heard the music playing in her dream before. Second, why was Yosuke in it?

_Still thinking of that boy, I see?_

Chie saw a muscular woman in a yellow tracksuit and motorcycle helmet behind her in the bathroom mirror. She almost jumped, until she realized it was just Tomoe.

"Geez, Tomoe, what did I say about sneaking up on me?" groaned Chie, still in a mild shock.

_I just wanted to make sure you've set other priorities as well. Not everything can be about love, can it?_

"It's not!" Chie yelled out, embarrassed.

"Chie, what's wrong?" Yukiko was at the bathroom door.

Oh crap. She had spoken out loud," It's nothing, Yukiko, you head to school, I won't be long."

"All right then, Chie," said Yukiko with hesitation in her voice. As the front door opened and closed, Chie was the only one in the household.

"Back to the matter at hand," thought Chie to her persona, brushing her hair," Since when has it been about love?"

Then Chie remembered. The song in her dream was about love. Had she materialized a piece of music in her dreams? But the most important question was, why was Yosuke the only person she knew that was in a dream about LOVE? She decided to let the matter rest and hastily prepared herself to get to school.

* * *

**Time: Morning**

Yosuke was sitting at his desk in homeroom. That's strange, Chie's not at her desk. She better not be late, or Ms. Kashiwagi would have her head. Today had been marked a special day by Ms. K. It was "Song-o-gram" Day. Today, the school choir and band would be traveling from homeroom to homeroom to perform 'Song-o-grams' to any people with admirers, secret or not, who had arranged a special love song to be played to them. The first time Song-o-gram day was held, Yukiko and Rise had gotten floods of them in their respective classes, which had literally taken up the whole homeroom period to finish, and had made them all late to second period.

The boy was disturbed from his thoughts by the screeching of the door sliding open. Chie quickly ran to her desk.

"Yo, sleepy head," greeted Yosuke," Sleep well?"

Chie dropped her head on her desk and groaned.

"How was she this morning?" Yosuke asked Yukiko.

Yukiko answered," Oh, she was just yelling at an imaginary figure in the bathroom."

Chie stood up again," Yukiko!"

Yosuke watched as Chie yelled at Yukiko as she stifled laughter. The front door opened again and in walked Ms. Kashiwagi. She had a smug grin on her face and a sheet with a list on it. This was the infamous Song-o-gram Victim List.

"Hello, children," she said, almost sarcastically," Does anyone know what day it is?"

Everyone remained quiet, so she continued," It's Song-o-gram Day! And I had the pleasure of having our class be the first to receive them! Now, this year, we only have two to save time for lectures."

The whole class groaned. Gone were the times of quietly conversing while the time was wasted with the melody of suckish pop music.

Ms. Kashiwagi read the list. This was unnecessary, the class knew, as they all knew she must've memorized it the night before," First, we for Yukiko Amagi, a song from a Mr.…Ooh, this is interesting!"

Yosuke looked curious. What was so interesting?

"It seems as if we have a song-o-gram, per request from an old student. A Mr. Souji Seta, to be exact."

GASP!

Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko were in shock. How could this be possible? Was this even allowed?

As if on cue (and probably on cue), the choir walked in with a radio. The small singing group played the CD instrumental inside and began.

_It's been a long time  
Now I'm coming back home  
I've been away now  
Oh how I've been alone  
Wait till I come back to your side  
We'll forget the tears we've cried_

Yosuke couldn't believe it: Souji specifically ordered him not to tell anyone of his return, and then he goes and pulls a stupid stunt like this!? Well, it's not like he wasn't happy, but it's just that now EVERYONE knew of his return, He wouldn't be surprised if a parade was awaiting him, seeing as how he bonded with almost everyone he said "hi" to.

_But if your heart breaks_  
_Don't wait, turn me away_  
_And if your heart's strong_  
_Hold on, I won't delay_  
_Wait till I come back to your side_  
_We'll forget the tears we've cried_

_I feel as though_  
_You ought to know_  
_That I've been good_  
_As good as I can be_  
_And if you do_  
_I'll trust in you_  
_And know that you_  
_Will wait for me_

Yosuke looked toward Yukiko to see her reaction, seeing as how the song was meant for her. She had a sad yet peaceful smile on her face and was nodding as if Souji was right in front of her, giving instructions. As Yosuke looked at Yukiko, Chie waved a hand in front of his face.

"You better not be getting any ideas," warned Chie," You can't hit on your best friend's girlfriend! What are we, American?"

As Chie turned her attention away from him, Yosuke was surprised. He had lost interest in Yukiko some time before Souji mentioned to him he liked her. Besides, Chie was the only one he wanted to think about.

_It's been a long time_  
_Now I'm coming back home_  
_I've been away now_  
_Oh how I've been alone_  
_Wait till I come back to your side_  
_We'll forget the tears we've cried_

_I feel as though_  
_You ought to know_  
_That I've been good_  
_As good as I can be_  
_And if you do_  
_I'll trust in you_  
_And know that you_  
_Will wait for me_

_But if your heart breaks_  
_Don't wait, turn me away_  
_And if your heart's strong_  
_Hold on, I won't delay_  
_Wait till I come back to your side_  
_We'll forget the tears we've cried_

_It's been a long time_  
_Now I'm coming back home_  
_I've been away now_  
_Oh, how I've been alone_

The class clapped formally as the group finished. They didn't leave, however: they still had one more song to play.

Ms. Kashiwagi read the list again," Let's see, last for homeroom period is…well, well, well, Ms. Satonaka!"

Chie stood up," What!?"

Ms. K read the list once more to verify this," Wow, this is the most surprising thing I've read! Like you'd have an admirer of some kind!"

Yosuke felt a bit of anger build up inside him. He knew by now that Chie wasn't affected by this, but stupid Kashiwagi always bagged on her for not being 'feminine' or 'appealing'. It didn't matter if she was a little different, it was what was inside that counted, right? And if the inside did count, then Kashiwagi would be like a female, more pathetically over-seductive Mitsuo Kubo. At the thought of picturing it, he shivered.

Ms. K continued," Anyways, choir team, begin your songs of love and peace and blabbity blah blah."

The choir took a deep breath and began the instrumental disc once more, this time to a guitar intro. They also accompanied the beat with rhythmic hand claps.

_Oh yeah, I'll tell you something  
I think you'll understand  
When I say that something  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand  
I wanna hold your hand _

_Oh, please, say to me_  
_You'll let me be your man_  
_and please, say to me_

_You'll let me hold your hand_  
_Now let me hold your hand_  
_I wanna hold your hand_

Yosuke sunk down in his seat. _He_ hadn't put in a song-o-gram for Chie. Then that meant someone else did! Was there another person (a COMPETENT one) going for Chie, too?

_Um, dude, going for Chie means FLIRTING, not breaking DVDs and crap._

Yosuke sighed. Susano-o was back. But, he did have a point there. He wanted so much to have Chie like him, but his moves were limited. He and Chie were already in a complicated relationship as the two friends who always hang out together, fight all the time, and have sworn to not like the other. Yosuke looked over at Chie. The choir had played into their roles, and now one of them was now kneeling, holding her hand in both of his own. Chie's face was bright red. She caught Yosuke's eye, and jerked her head the other way. Has she thought HE did this?_  
_

_And when I touch you I feel happy, inside  
It's such a feeling  
That my love  
I can't hide  
I can't hide  
I can't hide _

_Yeah you, got that something_  
_I think you'll understand_  
_When I say that something_  
_I wanna hold your hand_  
_I wanna hold your hand_  
_I wanna hold your hand_

_And when I touch you I feel happy, inside_  
_It's such a feeling_  
_That my love_  
_I can't hide_  
_I can't hide_  
_I can't hide_

_Yeah you, got that something_  
_I think you'll understand_  
_When I feel that something_  
_I wanna hold your hand_  
_I wanna hold your hand_  
_I wanna hold your hand._

The choir group bowed as they finished and were greeted with thunderous applause. Yosuke clapped too, but it was piecemeal and hollow. He looked back at Chie, and she had pulled her turtleneck up to cover her face. This wasn't the Chie he knew and lov- scratch that, the Chie he KNEW. She used to laugh at the kinds of songs that the choir had sung to her. Now, she was like a love struck teenager (it's exactly how it sounds, folks, don't delve into it too much.). Then again, this music was known to have magical effects.

_Oh, I know that one. It's always been a favorite of mine..  
_John was back inside Yosuke's head. He heard John take a sip from a cup. Where'd he get a beverage from his brain?

Yosuke decided to ask John a question," John, has your music ever cast spells on anyone?"

_Anyone not under drug influence? No, I don't think so. Why?_

"Nothing," Yosuke thought to John. It was strange, though. When John played music on the CD and in the TV World, magic happened. And now, in the choir, the song had made the once hardened Chie's knees shake from anxiety! Was it the actual songs that were magical, or something different?

Ms. Kashiwagi put away her list," Now, wasn't that nice, class? I don't know how blind the person who made one out to Satonaka is, but that's behind us now. Please turn to page 154 of your books…"

* * *

**Time: After School**

RINNG!

Yosuke sat at his desk as the final bell rang. For the past seven hours, all he thought about were various things, like Chie's admirer, the songs' effects, you know, stuff like that. He was interrupted by these thoughts when Chie came up to him. She was fine now, and stood tall.

"Yo," she greeted," Hey, we have to be at the Dojimas to take care of Nanako today, too, remember?"

Oh, yeah, Yosuke had forgotten by now. He and the gang was taking care of Nanako while Dojima-san was at the office.

Yosuke got up from his seat and carried his bag," Yeah, I know. Where's Yukiko-san?"

Chie scratched the back of her head, looking away from Yosuke," Oh, she left early today, the inn needs help with reservations. She also needs to book Souji a room for when he visits soon."

An awkward silence was in the air for a few seconds until Chie added," So, should we go now?"

Yosuke was a little surprised, and showed it on his face" Wait, just me and you?"

Chie nodded," Yeah. It's not going to be a date or anything, just a walk home, per se."

Per se? Chie never used fancy words. Had the song changed her vocabulary as well? Yosuke pretended to turn on his CD player and walked out of the school with Chie.

The two were now walking down the flood plain together. The blossoms falling from the tree swirled on the way down in shades of lovely pink, and the calming gurgle of the river was heard below. The sky was clear and blue, and he saw birds fly through. No one else was on the premises. He and Chie were absolutely…alone.

They walked in silence for a few more seconds until Chie cried," Oh yeah, I remember!"

"Remember what?" asked Yosuke, confused.

Chie pointed an accusing finger at the boy," You promised we would listen to a song together the next time we walked…um, together."

She sure was using the word 'together' a lot. It slightly bothered him, yet it also made him happy that Chie was picturing them…'together'. Yosuke took off his headphones, no sound coming from them, as all the music was in his head (literally).

Yosuke looked at his headphones. Last time they listened, he had earphones, so It meant two people could listen to a song. But now…

"Sorry, Chie, but there's just no way," Yosuke said, trying to sound a bit sad," I mean, what do we do, press our heads together and hope they fit?"

A light bulb formed over Chie's head as she began thinking" Hmmm…"

Oh no.

Chie snatched Yosuke's headphones and stretched them as far apart as possible, then placed them over her and Yosuke's heads. It was pretty awkward, and Yosuke had to lean down a bit to reach Chie's height. They stood like that for two minutes, looking absolutely ridiculous. Yosuke felt a crick forming in his neck.

"Well?" Chie asked," Are you gonna play a song or are we going to look like idiots for a few more minutes?"

Yosuke was about to hit a button on the player when he remembered: All the music was in his head!

_Don't worry, babe, I'll handle it._

"Really?" Yosuke asked John mentally," Well, pick an appropriate song,, because our heads are pretty much stuck like this, and if she pulls away, she'll break my headphones.

_Oh, please, you have a pair for every outfit!_

Yosuke crossed his fingers and prayed, but heard music not from his head, but from the headphones. Chie cautiously turned towards Yosuke and smiled," Good boy!"

Yosuke hoped John had picked an appropriate song He really couldn't afford to buy one more set of headphones.

_To lead a better life I need my love to be here... _

_Here, making each day of the year_  
_Changing my life with a wave of her hand_  
_Nobody can deny that there's something there_

_There, running my hands through her hair_  
_Both of us thinking how good it can be_  
_Someone is speaking but she doesn't know he's there_

"Oh, crap," thought Yosuke. He knew this song. John had told him among the songs he'd written, this was one of the most romantic and love-centric.

Yosuke carefully looked towards Chie for any signs of disgust, mutuality, anything that might cause her to run away. Surprisingly, she was…smiling. Why would she smile? Not long after thinking this, Yosuke felt the same thing he knew Chie was feeling. He didn't feel embarrassment, or fear of rejection, but…love. It wasn't deep romantic love, but just a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him everything was going to be all right, even if nothing was wrong._  
_

_I want her everywhere and if she's beside me  
I know I need never care  
But to love her is to need her everywhere  
Knowing that love is to share _

_Each one believing that love never dies_  
_Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there_

He realized he was still looking at Chie and their eyes met. She looked so lovely that moment, and so happy. He felt himself lean closer a bit, but it seemed the music just wasn't effective enough to give him the **Courage** to give Chie a kiss. Maybe he should start eating random crap from the fridge like Souji…

_  
I want her everywhere and if she's beside me  
I know I need never care  
But to love her is to need her everywhere  
Knowing that love is to share _

_Each one believing that love never dies_  
_Watching her eyes and hoping I'm always there_

_I will be there and everywhere_  
_Here, there and everywhere_

The song ended, and Chie took off Yosuke's headphones, staring at him. Yosuke expected that, with the music's magic gone, that she'd slap him or something. Chie was just staring at him for a few seconds, her mouth in an 'O' shape. Then, it changed into a light smile. She shook her head mischievously and walked on into the Dojimas residence, which, just as last time seemed to materialize before them as they had been walking the whole way absentmindedly due to the music. Yosuke followed her in, and was greeted with a slurred yell," Yoo-hoo Yosuke!"

Yosuke, hearing his name, turned to the source. In boxers and a collared shirt, stood Teddie, holding a bottle of what seemed to be liquor in his hand," Um, Ted?"

Teddie marched over to Yosuke, staring him in the eye," Yosuke…Yosuke…Yo…soo…gay!"

Say wha? Before he knew it, Teddie was on the floor, rolling on the floor laughing in a drunken matter. Wisely, he left for the spare room before the situation got worse. Tomorrow, they'd all be leaving the Dojima household and continuing their normal lives.


	5. All You Need Is Love II

-1**5/8 2012**

**Weather: Cloudy**

**Sunday**

**Time: Early Morning**

It had been two days since Dojima had left, and it was now time for him to come home. Nanako had left to visit a friend and wouldn't be back in a couple of hours. Chie was working with Rise and Yukiko to make breakfast (god help us), and Yosuke was secretly talking with John at the breakfast table, hiding behind a newspaper. By now, everyone had their stuff packed and were ready to leave once Dojima parked in the driveway at noon. The only one who hadn't packed yet was Teddie, who was fast asleep under his bag with an empty bottle of malt liquor clutched in his right hand.

Kanji and Naoto were standing right above him, staring.

"Hay, man, wake up!" yelled Kanji.

No reply.

Frustrated, Kanji gave a sharp kick to the area under the blanket where Teddie's leg should be. Teddie's eyes thrust open and he grabbed his leg with one arm, and let go of the bottle to clutch his head, "Teddie is hurting all over."

"It seems as if due to your intake of alcohol yesterday, your head has been left with an aching sensation," Naoto explained scientifically.

"Eh?" groaned Kanji and Teddie simultaneously.

" A simple hangover, if you will." sighed Naoto, turning away from the two 'imbeciles'.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Kanji stepped over Teddie and picked up," Hello? Oh, hey Dojima-san. No, she's at a friend's house. Hm? A-are you sure? No, it's OK."

Yosuke, who had been arguing with John about cheese puffs mentally in the background perked up his ears. What was wrong?

Kanji continued to speak to Dojima," Ok, then. Bye," he hung up and sighed," Dojima has to stay behind at the office. It looks like the case he's working on isn't moving, so he has to stay at the office until it they dig up new evidence."

Teddie stood up from his bag," Does that mean Teddie can stay longer?"

Kanji shrugged one shoulder," I guess. Crap, we've already packed!"

"It's a good thing Teddie took the initiative and didn't pack at all!" cried Teddie cheerfully," Once Nana-chan gets back, we can play all day!"

Yosuke still sat in the background, hidden by the newspaper. He was thinking of just dropping it, as he couldn't stand the smell of newsprint. He was also happy that he could stay with all of his friends in the Dojimas' house for a little longer. Too bad he already packed all his stuff.

_Say, can I ask you something, Hanamoola?_

"Sure," replied Yosuke to John," What is it?"

_What was that world you went into behind the TV?_

"Oh," Yosuke was searching for the correct words," It's… a TV world."

_I know that, what IS it?_

Yosuke sighed. He didn't really feel like explaining a whole year's worth of events to something that might possibly only be a figment of imagination. But he recollected everything he could and explained everything, from the first murder to Izanami. He had explained it to him for over 10 minutes.

_Whoa. That's crazy, man. If I hadn't seen the place I wouldn't believe you. Still, something bothers me about your story._

"What?" Yosuke seriously didn't want to explain again. He only had to speak in his mind, but he was afraid of getting a migraine.

_Whatever happened to those 'dungeons' you talked about?_

Oh yeah, Yosuke never thought about what happened to the dungeons. The places used to be infested with Shadows, but now it seemed as if all of the Shadows had disappeared from the TV World.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard Rise cry out in a singsong voice," Breakfast's ready!"

Yosuke heard Kanji groan," I already canceled my insurance. Can't we just eat out?"

As Yosuke put down the newspaper, he saw Rise place her hands on her hips," Come on, Kanji! You know we're good cooks now!"

" But that was a cake you tried THREE times to make! This is a whole different meal of the day here!" Kanji argued," So, grab your stuff, we're goin' to Aiya's."

Yosuke tried to sound positive," C'mon, Kanji, they proved they can cook. Can't we just try it once? And if we die, we can just haunt them _FOREEEVERRR_…"

As Yosuke made spooky sounds, Chie and Yukiko set down six plates of toast, bacon, and eggs. Yosuke looked at the food in front o him. At least it looked _a little_ like food this time. The bacon and toast looked burnt to the point of crumbling in his fingers, and the eggs were GREEN. Something told him this was their first try so far.

As Kanji, Naoto, and Teddie came to the table, too, the girls looked at all of them with expectation," Well?"

Naoto looked around her and saw no one was eating," Is something bothering you all? Are your stomachs upset?"

Yosuke sighed," You can say that."

Chie looked exasperated, and exhaled deeply. After five minutes of just sitting at the table, waiting for the four to eat, she yelled," OK, that's it! If that's the way you'll be, we'll eat! Rise-chan?"

Rise turned to her brown-haired friend," What?"

Chie motioned her hand towards her," Eat it and prove we can cook!"

Rise looked down at her food. Everyone watched her cautiously. Finally, they heard her stomach groan and she pushed her plate away," Nu-uh! I can't even look at it!"

A smile spread across Kanji's face and he tipped back in his chair," Told ya! So, Aiya's, anybody?"

Chie stood up," I'll just prove to you we can cook!" She moved from her seat, got her fork, and approached Yosuke.

She got some of Yosuke's green egg on the fork and held it in front of him," Open wide!"

Yosuke just looked at her," What the hell are you do-"

She thrust the fork in Yosuke's open mouth and pulled it out, the egg gone. Yosuke realized suddenly he had the poison-looking egg in his mouth. He felt sick. A bright light appeared in front of him, calling his name. He rolled back his eyes, fell on the floor, and- Wait. _What was this_? It tasted good! He got up from the floor and looked astonished," What the hell did you guys do!? It looks like crap, but tastes like gold!"

He saw as the three girls looked at each other, and each pulled from behind their backs green food coloring and chocolate powder," Ta-da!"

The other four almost fell back in their chairs. Kanji, flustered, said," I-it's not poisonous?"

Rise cried out," You all say we can't cook! So, while making breakfast, we all agreed to make you learn it's the inside that counts! Um, guys? Are you listening to me?"

They hadn't heard. They were all busy scarfing down the delicious, yet horrible-looking meal.

After a delicious meal, they all sat around the living room. Kanji lay on the couch, his legs spread out and his hands behind his head. Rise, Yukiko, and Chie were sitting at the kitchen table, laughing about their prank. Naoto had gone out for some unknown reason and Teddie and Yosuke were playing Scrabble.

"Hmmm…" Teddie stroked an imaginary beard on his chin as he contemplated his move.

Yosuke, tired of waiting, finally sighed," Will you make a move already!?"

Teddie had a light bulb appear above his head," A ha!"

He arranged a vertical column of letter that spelled 'SHOOPDAWOOP'. Yosuke still stared at the word," That's not a word, Teddie."

Teddie argued," It is! I heard it on the computer!"

Yosuke face palmed, and heard Kanji yell," Oh, crap!"

Everyone ran over to the blonde-haired boy, who was staring in a cabinet.

"What is it, Kanji-kun?" asked Yukiko.

Kanji pulled his head out of the cupboard, his face pale," Teddie, where'd you get that liquor?"

Teddie pulled the bottle out from under his sleeping bag," In the…cupboard."

"You idiot! That was Dojima's alcohol stash! You NEVER drink in a detective's house, moron!" Kanji yelled angrily.

"Kanji-kun!" cried back Yukiko," It wasn't Teddie's fault, he didn't know!"

Kanji closed the cupboard slowly, his face sour," Aw, man, what'll we do?"

Yosuke answered," I'll tell you what we'll do, we'll buy another one!"

Kanji turned to Yosuke," And how will we do that? We're minors, who'll sell alcohol to us?"

Yosuke slunk back down, worried. How could this happen. He wouldn't live to see his parents again, because when Dojima comes home, he'd either be dead or in jail. But then, he remembered a distant memory: In the TV World, Souji found a bottle of liquor in the Shopping District. But whatever happened to the worlds created by humans in the TV?

Desperate, he told his friends about the shopping district in the TV.

Chie looked confused at first, then remembered," Oh yeah, Souji took us there that one time, and came out with alcohol! Mori Ramchu, I think."

Kanji's face lit up with hope," Teddie, what does the bottle say?"

Teddie looked down at the bottle's label," Mori Ramchu, why?"

All of their faces lit up; they had a chance.

"We need to get to Junes, fast!"

* * *

**Time: Morning**

The six friends were now in the electronics department. Yosuke had practically ran in," OK, where's the TV?"

They all looked in the regular area for the TV, but it was gone! It seemed as if it was sold long after they stopped using it. Their entrance to the TV World was…gone.

Kanji sank to his knees, in shock," No…" He then turned his head to Teddie," This is all your fault!"

He grabbed him by the collar," If you didn't get drunk, we wouldn't have this problem!"

Everyone restrained Kanji and helped Teddie breathe.

Chie sighed and leaned against a shelf of camera accessories parallel to the TVs," Well, it's over now."

Yosuke stood silent for a few seconds, then remembered yet another thing. The other day, when he had no exit from the TV World, John had created a portal with a song. Hastily, he ran over to another TV that was big enough to fit through. It was possible. John could just make another portal.

The others turned their heads to Yosuke and saw that he was climbing into a completely different TV.

Rise yelled," S-senpai, what the hell are you doing!?"

Yosuke went in and kept his head out, saying," I have a plan! Just trust me on this!"

He ducked his head into the screen, and the ripples of black and white disappeared.

Chie ran over to the TV," Yosuke, you idiot!" She dived headfirst into the TV, and was followed reluctantly by the others.

* * *

"WHOAA!!!" Chie fell on grassy earth. Her butt was sore, and was so unused to going into the TV World. Hearing another screaming voice, she darted out of the way and saw as Kanji, Rise, Teddie, and Yukiko toppled on top of each other, dazed and confused.

"Why the hell are we in here again?"

"H-hey Teddie, let go of me!"

"Sorry, Rise-chan, but Teddie needed a cushion!"

SMACK!

"Teddy will move over here now," Teddie scooted away from the pile of people, a red hand mark on his left cheek.

Chie let out a slight laugh, never tired of Teddie's pain. She looked at her surroundings. It seemed as if they were in a different part of the TV World, as there were no lakes and the mountains seemed closer. She could see Yosuke in the distance, looking around. Why the hell would he dive into a completely different TV? He knew that now, they had no way out. Was this his plan, to wait it out in the TV until they had all forgotten about them?

She walked over to the boy and said," You have some explaining to do, mister!"

Yosuke hushed her and called over Rise," Rise, get over here!"

Rise ran over to him," Yes, senpai?"

"Summon your persona, and try to locate the Twisted Shopping District."

At first, Rise seemed confused, but then said," Got it."

The blue aura appeared as Himiko stood behind her, covering Rise's eyes with her hands, her satellite head turning left and right," That's strange. I can feel it's somewhere in here, but it's so far away. Teddie, can you help me?"

Teddie ran over to Rise," Right away, Rise-chan!" He sniffed the air and walked to the west," Yeah, I can smell it! The fog's gone, so it's a lot easier to follow the scent!"

The others followed Teddie as he walked away from the mountains towards the sun.

After a few minutes, they all stood at a sudden stretch of asphalt road, followed by the sudden return of domesticated trees and buildings. It seemed just like the shopping district now, right down to the falling cherry blossoms. It seemed as if they had never left the real world.

Chie watched as Yosuke walked into Konishi Liquors, and followed. She still didn't understand Yosuke's plan. I mean, sure, they'd get the Mori Ramchu, but then they'd have to find out how to leave. Or did he have that figured out?

_Well, looks like you've listened to my advice._

"What're you talking about?" asked Chie to Tomoe, who had returned to her mind.

_You've finally stopped focusing mainly on the boy and are now focused on the mission!_

"What mission?" sighed Chie," We're just getting a bottle of liquor, and who said nothing about me focusing on Yosuke!?"

_Tsk, tsk. To think such a strong and brave person wouldn't sink to lying to herself._

"Who's lying to themselves!?" Chie cried out out loud.

_You are, and I'd keep an inside voice if I were you. I mean, I AM you, but you get what I mean._

Chie looked as everyone was staring at her.

"Everything all right, Chie-senpai?" asked Rise, a skeptical look on her face," You seem…strange lately."

Chie tried to reassure her friends," Um, nothing's wrong! Continue!"

Everyone turned back around and entered the shop. Chie sighed a breath of relief. She couldn't get why Tomoe was so concerned about Chie focusing on other priorities besides Yosuke. And when did she focus on Yosuke? I mean, sure, he was kind, considerate, not bad looking, kind of an idiot, though-

_Other priorities, Chie…_

Chie tried her best to suppress Tomoe back into her mind and stepped into the shop. The interior was still blue, but the overall creepiness seemed to have lowered. The kegs that were once scattered all over the floor were now stacked orderly behind the counter, which was now clear of the pictures that once lay there.

"OK," Yosuke began," We find the Mori Ramchu, then we leave."

Everyone went in different directions and searched the store for a bottle. Chie looked behind various kegs behind the counter. Then she saw a picture that she recognized used to be on the counter. It was a picture of Saki and Yosuke and the other part-timers. It was ripped slightly, and the rip went right over Yosuke's face. She couldn't understand what Yosuke saw in Saki. He knew that Saki had lied to him and really thought he was a pain in the ass. She had no idea why Yosuke still apparently 'loved' her. Personally, she thought she was a bitch, enough said.

As she moved to the left, she felt someone move their hand on top of hers. She looked towards the left and saw Yosuke, who was just as surprised as her. Quickly, they both pulled away and moved in opposite directions. She felt her face turn red a little. But why? Why Yosuke?

_You can't help who you fall in love with, my dear._

Chie tried to shut out Tomoe's words and continued to search in the freezer section. Way in the back, she finally saw a bottle with 'Mori Ramchu' on the label. She reached way in and felt she could only brush her fingers against it.

"Hey, over here!" she called," I found it!"

The others gathered around her as she struggled trying to reach the bottle.

After a few minutes, Kanji said," Oh, I'll get it."

Her hand sore, Chie stepped back and watched as Kanji reached in and grabbed the bottle with ease.

"Now we can get the hell out of here!" cried Kanji in relief," Now, senpai, how DO we get out of here?"

Chie stared at Yosuke as well as he awkwardly stared the other way," Well, you see…OK, I'll do it, but don't laugh, OK?"

They watched as Yosuke exited the shop and summoned a blue card in front of him. He crushed it in his fist and cried out like a battle cry," All You Need Is Love!"

…

The group still stared at Yosuke, who seemed to be anticipating something," Well, senpai?" asked Rise anxiously," Or are we just going to stand here and listen to you shout out song titles all day?"

Yosuke went into a panic," Why isn't it appearing!?" he yelled," John, now's your cue!"

There was an awkward silence as Yosuke just stood there.

"Let me try again" he sighed. The card was summoned, and again, he shattered it, yelling the same awkward phrase.

This time, however, a giant puff of smoke appeared. Chie closed her eyes, and upon opening them, saw a stage rise from the smoke. With dozens of more smaller puffs of smoke, a band formed onstage and an orchestra appeared around it. She felt she had seen this before…Oh, crap, this was straight from her dream! The orchestra played their horns and a drum roll was heard. Suddenly, the four people started to sing:

_Love, Love, Love.  
Love, Love, Love.  
Love, Love, Love._

Almost immediately after this, Chie saw in the corner of her eye that the cherry blossom petals were blowing toward them. They suddenly swirled in a circle in front of them and formed a large portal, about 5 feet in diameter with a shining light pouring out.. What was Yosuke doing?  
_  
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.  
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.  
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.  
It's easy._

This was amazing. Yosuke single-handedly summoned a giant band and made them form a portal to…where, she didn't exactly know yet, but at least it was somewhere. She saw Yosuke, his eyes fixated on the portal forming, standing by the orchestra. She approached him and asked," Yosuke, what is all this?"

The boy let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head," You wouldn't believe me if I told ya."

"But when can we leave?"

"Just wait until the portal forms a heart, then we can leave!"

HUH? __

Nothing you can make that can't be made.  
No one you can save that can't be saved.  
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.  
It's easy.

Chie watched her other friends as they stood confused. Most of them were just staring, their eyes wide. Kanji, who apparently had the most sensitive ears on the planet, was covering his ears once again.

"Make them stop!" he yelled, gritting his teeth.

"C'mon, Kanji, it's not that bad, is it?" asked Rise, a big smile on her face. She then turned her attention back to the song," Go, John, go Paul! WHOOO!"

Chie saw as the man with long scraggly brown hair in front and the bass player who was in complete grayscale winked at Rise. She turned to Rise and saw her faint, crumbling to the grassy plain below. She felt like she was in the middle of Beatlemania. I mean, without the thousands of screaming girls.  
_  
All you need is love.  
All you need is love.  
All you need is love, love.  
Love is all you need._

The portal now formed the heart shape and was emitting an even brighter light.

Yosuke walked over to the portal," OK, now we can go."

"That's our way out?" asked Kanji," Doesn't it seem…I don't know, a little girly?"

"Want to starve to death in here?" asked Yosuke with a menacing glare.

"Let's go!" said Kanji said, his voice wavering. He practically dragged Rise back through and Teddie followed.

Yukiko was about to go but realized Chie and Yosuke were still inside," Are you two coming?"

Chie shook herself out of her daze. For some reason, the music was so…magical. She called over Yosuke and they walked through the portal together back to Junes. As they went through, she felt his hand brush hers once again. She was startled at first, but instead let it stay there. Back in the TV World, John and the band were still performing.

_All you need is love.  
All you need is love.  
All you need is love, love.  
Love is all you need.  
_

* * *

**Time: Evening**

_CRASH!_

Yosuke and Chie were thrown violently against the cell phone accessories as they exited the portal. Chie's head ached as she stood up, rubbing it with her left hand. She then saw that she was sitting on top of Yosuke's head.

"Could you, oh, I don't know…Get off, please?" he said irritably.

She stood up and dusted herself off," Do we got the bottle?"

Kanji took from behind his back the Mori Ramchu, which had mysteriously been uninjured in his crash back into the real world.

"Then let's get home!" cried Yosuke happily," We're in the clear, everybody!"

They all happily ran out of the electronics department back home.

* * *

The six had finally made it back with the bottle, and saw that Nanako and Naoto had returned. Nanako looked anxious, seeing as how they hadn't told her her Dad was going to be late, and Naoto had an empty paper bag next to her.

Naoto looked to the group and said," Oh, you're home. I got a message from Dojima-san that he wouldn't return in a couple of days."

"Yeah, that sucks," laughed Rise awkwardly, trying to not let Naoto notice Kanji sneak the bottle back in the cupboard.

They all heard kanji cry," What the hell?"

Everyone save for Nanako and Naoto went over and saw a Mori Ramchu bottle already inside, prominently at the front.

Chie was shocked," B-but how?"

Naoto stood up from her spot," Oh, the Mori Ramchu. When I saw Teddie clutching the bottle this morning, I noticed Dojima had an alcohol cupboard. So, I peeked inside and noticed a bottle was missing. So, I went over to the estate and picked up a bottle from my grandpa's own cupboard. He doesn't mind, as long as I don't drink it. Are you all listening?"

Everyone had all collapsed on the floor in shock. The Mori Ramchu Kanji held had dropped to the floor and shattered in pieces, a pool of clear alcohol flooding the kitchen floor.

Naoto turned away, sighing" I'll get a mop."

* * *

_So sorry, I couldn't provide any new music, but I had just had to add in this funny little chapter. Don't worry, the next one will have a personal favorite of mine!_


	6. Blackbird

**5/9 2012**

**Weather: Cloudy**

**Unscheduled Holiday**

**Time: Dawn**

**Above Inaba...**

The time was 5:32. In about a half hour, the sun would rise over the small rural town of Inaba. Up in the clouds, however, was a small private jet. The only ones in the jet were the pilot and an old man with grayed brown hair.

The pilot spoke to the old man from the cockpit," Sir, don't mind me asking, but why are we her again? Don't you hate Japan?"

The old man spoke with a British accent," No, that's the Philippines I hate. Bloody islanders nearly bit our heads off over there!"

The pilot said back," Well, what's your business in a small town like this? You don't play any junctions in Japan anymore, right?"

The old man shook his head," No, but let's just say I need to check up on someone..."

The jet cut through the clouds and now approached the rising sun towards Yasoinaba Airport.

_**Inaba**_

It was the first cloudy day of the month of May. The sun was nowhere in sight, and slightly dulled the mood of the business of the northern end of the shopping district. The cherry blossoms had stopped dropping from the trees, but leftovers from the past few days still lay all over the ground. Many business that were out of business before, like the barber shop, pharmacy, and bank were now open, and were bustling with customers. Rise had dragged the group out on a nice walk on this rather windy day. Rise and Nanako were practically running down the street as they looked in the shop windows. Kanji and Teddie were chomping down as many topsicles as possible to decide a new winner. Naoto was walking at a slow pace to not disturb her reading. Yukiko were watching as Yosuke and Chie awkwardly tried to arrange Yosuke's headphones in order to listen to another song together.

Yosuke tried his best to untangle the many knots in his earphones. Chie waited impatiently as Yosuke continued the dull task (Your **Diligence** has increased?) Suddenly, Yosuke let go of the earphones' tangled wires, shaking his hands after five minutes of trying," That's it, my hands are cramped."

Chie sighed," Oh, come on! It's not that tangled, is it?" she pulled on one end of the earphones and all of Yosuke's hard work was undone, tightening the knots beyond untangling.

Chie let out a nervous laugh as Yosuke glared at her," Can't we just use your headphones like last time? I'm sure our heads will fit better now."

Suddenly, the group stopped walking to turn and stare at the two. Kanji held a topsicle in his mouth, and Teddie held four in his. Naoto looked up from her book and glanced at the two, a curious look on her face. Rise looked intently at the two, eyes wide and a big grin. Nanako, who was looking up at all of the faces, was plain confused.

Yosuke tried to clear things up," You've got it wrong, we only did it once, and absolutely nothing happened!"

Chie made a quick grab for the red headphones around Yosuke's neck and stretched them as far apart as possible," Don't be so immature, let them think what they want. I mean, we both know nothing's gonna change just because we press our heads together sometimes, right?"

Yosuke thought deeply for a few seconds. Chie did have a point. So what if they all thought something was going on between the two of them? Made no difference to him. The brown haired boy shrugged and made the same awkward position as before to fit in between the phones. He felt himself blush, but tried his best to conceal it, as everyone was watching.

"John, hit it," he told John," Play something fitting. Maybe a little 'Misery', to fit the situation."

John didn't answer.

"John, old buddy?" Yosuke was worried. For the past five minutes, John hadn't spoken. Was he dead!? I mean, the other day, he was DRINKING something inside of his head. Was he out of food? Oh, god, he had killed a musical legend by starvation! He then heard a sudden statement from John.

_This street...what is it called?_

"Hm?" Yosuke darted his eyes around, scanning the area;" We just call it the shopping district, why?"

_Hmm... I deem thee **Penny Lane!**_

Penny Lane? Yosuke didn't know this song before. He suddenly heard lyrics flood through the headphones.

_Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs  
of every head he's had the pleasure to have known  
and all the people that come and go  
Stop and say hello  
_

In the corner of his eye he saw the local barber shop, recently reopened. Through the windows, he saw that the barber had a new custom of taking photos of newly cut customers. Strange, he hadn't seen those photos yesterday. Was the music having an effect on reality again?_  
_

_On the corner is a banker with a motorcar  
the little children laugh at him behind his back  
and the banker never wears a mac  
in the pouring rain...  
Very strange  
_

Yosuke looked to his left again and saw an American man with a raincoat on, but no hat to go with it. Behind him, a group of children was snickering at him, pointing at him occasionally. Suddenly, just as quick as he appeared, he fell through a puddle in the ground that seemed to barely materialize. Yosuke shook his head slightly, and saw the man was gone.

However, from shaking his head, the headphones fell from his and Chie's heads. The group behind them stopped walking as they bent both reached down to get it, and he accidentally laid his hand on hers. He pulled away and let her place the headphones back on. Through the music, he heard Rise exclaim sweetly," Aaaaw."

_Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes  
there beneath the blue suburban skies  
I sit and meanwhile back_

_In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass  
and in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.  
He likes to keep his fire engine clean  
it's a clean machine  
_

Strange, just ahead a fireman was watching his truck; beside him were an hourglass, and- a portrait of a…queen… Well, the fire truck WAS a clean machine. Yosuke thought of all of the rotten food he ate from the back of the Dojimas' fridge the other day. Well, it didn't make him braver, but it made him lose his mind!

The group then passed by Marukyu Tofu and Yosuke saw a man with rather wrinkly hands hiding behind a large newspaper. The lyrics said nothing about an old man with a paper, so he confirmed he wasn't a figment of his broken mind. The man took a peek from behind the paper at Yosuke. Yosuke saw that the man's hair was a grayed brown, and his eyes were blue. As their eyes met, the music playing in his headphones stopped.

Chie came to a stop as well, surprised at the music ending," Hey, what's wrong?" she asked," The CD player dead or something?"

_This presence…I know it…But, we haven't talked in years…I can barely feel it._

"What's wrong?" Yosuke asked the man in his head," What presence?"

_I can't feel it anymore. Sorry about that._

Yosuke let out a breath of exasperation from John's confusing words and the music came back on in the headphones. Yosuke tried his best to focus on the song, but couldn't stop thinking of John's words. He sounded so serious that moment, but all he knew for certain was John sensed something that broke his concentration. He looked back at the man with the newspaper as they walked away. He felt nothing from him, and listened as the song ended.

_Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes  
there beneath the blue suburban skies...  
Penny Lane._

* * *

They were now in the flood plain. They decided to rest at the table on the hill away from the riverbed. The usual bluebirds were out and about today in the cloudy weather, and they sang peacefully as the eight rested. They all sat at the table, making small talk. Yosuke tried hard to not show his concern, but Chie sensed his discomfort.

"Hey, something wrong?" she asked, with a hint of genuine concern in her tone," This isn't about the headphones, is it?"

Yosuke turned towards Chie. She had been so kind to him lately, and he was grateful for it, but he felt she wouldn't understand," It's nothing," he said, turning towards the riverbank.

Rise suddenly got excited over Chie's concern," Oooh, Chie-senpai, you're really worried for Yosuke-senpai, aren't you?"

Chie felt her face flush and turned the other way, her back to Yosuke," It's just that we're friends, so we need to know what's going on with the other, all right?"

"Whatever you say," replied Rise playfully, and then turning her attention back to the conversations.

Yosuke looked onward towards the riverbank, and then saw a black ruffle of feathers just in front of him. He took a closer look, and saw it was a blackbird that looked seriously injured," Hey, guys, look at this!"

The others turned towards Yosuke and all saw the injured bird, too. Nanako got up from her seat and ran over to it," Poor little guy!"

Kanji stood up," W-wait, Nanako-chan, it might have rabies!"

Rise rolled her eyes and went over to Nanako, who was now holding the bird," Don't worry, Nanako-chan, give us a sec and we'll help the little guy, OK?"

Nanako just looked down at the bird, cradling it in her arms now, not seeming to mind its foul odor. Rise went back to the group," What should we do? That bird's in serious condition, and Nanako's too fragile to see it die."

Naoto shook her head somberly," Nanako's a strong girl. She'll have to deal with the subject of death in order to grow. I say we ease her into the matter of death with this bird."

Rise cried back," How could you be so heartless, Naoto-kun! You're saying as if she needs this bird to…well…_die_," she had whispered the word in order for Nanako to not hear it.

Naoto replied," So, we ignore this, and let her deal with death at a shooting or her own father's death? You saw its broken wing, both it dies or will never fly again, and that's no life for a bird, to stay grounded at such a young age."

Rise looked down depressingly, then muttered," OK. But we do this softly. Ease her in, right?"

Naoto nodded and turned her attention back to Nanako," Nanako-chan, what-HUH?"

Naoto ran to the field Nanako was just standing in," She's gone!"

The group looked towards Naoto in shock.

"What'll we do!?" cried Rise," She could be anywhere!"

"We'll split into search teams," Naoto said," Let's move, people!"

They split into teams of Rise and Naoto, Kanji and Teddie, and Yukiko, Chie, and Yosuke.

* * *

The old man behind the newspaper dropped the paper to see his tofu had come. He looked down at the white cubes. The wife had been bugging him to eat healthier, so…bottoms up? Just as he was about to begin his disgusting meal, he saw a panicked little girl with a pink and white dress quickly walk down the street, an injured bird in her arms.

"H-hey, kid!" he called, stopping the girl," What's wrong?"

The girl looked as if she'd start crying. The bird was chirping weakly, its beady eyes barely open and its twisted wing twitching uncontrollably. The man felt his heart crack a bit at the sad scene, and didn't need words to understand what happened. All he needed to know was this bird needed help (and it smelled terribly!). Just as he was about to get help, he got an idea. He looked at the chair adjacent to his own and saw his guitar resting there. He hadn't played the song he was going to play in a long time, and its effects had only worked once. The gamble between this and real medical help was too risky, but nevertheless, grabbed hold of the guitar's neck. He squatted down to the girl's height, holding the guitar," Listen, put the bird on the ground, and I want you to believe this bird's gonna be all right, 'Kay?"

The girl nodded her head, her hands and eyes trembling. The old man strummed the guitar gently, tapping his foot. He began to sing, his voice smooth and his accent nonexistent.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night  
Take these broken wings and learn to fly  
all your life  
you were only waiting for this moment to arise_

The bird on the floor twitched a little, and its broken wing seemed to slowly move back in place. The bird still seemed to be in a lot of pain, though, and could barely a peak.

_Black bird singing in the dead of night_  
_Take these sunken eyes and learn to see_  
_all your life_  
_you were only waiting for this moment to be free_

_Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly_  
_Into the light of the dark black night._

As the man strummed his guitar, bluebirds resting on the nearby rooftops gathered around the bird. The little girl backed away slowly, but the man showed no fear, but a peaceful expression on his face. Had he expected this?

_Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly_  
_into the light of the dark black night._

The man stopped the strumming momentarily, and then started back up, and the bluebirds around them started singing. The blackbird in the middle of the circle slowly began to rise back to its feet. The little girl watched in awe as the blackbird now stood on its two feet.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night_  
_Take these broken wings and learn to fly_  
_All your life_  
_You were only waiting for this moment to arise,_  
_You were only waiting for this moment to arise,_  
_You were only waiting for this moment to arise_

The man stopped playing, and it seemed a small audience had gathered around them. The old man looked up at all of the faces," Um, hello there."

The crowd cheered as the man stood up, guitar in his hand. It felt good to perform again, all of those satisfied faces. Good thing no one recognized him, or he'd have a lot more restraining orders to file out. He looked down at the little girl, who was staring at the sight of the blackbird still on the ground, singing.

The man knew his work was done. But, the crowd was restless. He could do two things: Go back to his table and eat the tofu, or play another song. If his food got cold, he could probably have an excuse to not eat it…

"Who wants me to play one more?" he shouted. The crowd applauded, and the man strummed the guitar again.

_Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away.  
Now it looks as though they're here to stay.  
Oh, I believe in yesterday…_

* * *

The seven had searched practically the whole town for Nanako; the flood plain, the house, Junes; she was gone. They had now regrouped near the bus stop, all of them out of breath.

"Did any of you find anything?" asked Naoto, huffing.

"Nothing," sighed Yosuke," Oh, man, what do we tell Dojima-san? He'll kill us!"

"Hm?" Chie picked up her head and looked over to Marukyu Tofu. A guitar was playing, and there was a small crowd surrounding a small circle," Hey, guys, look at this!"

"What is it?" asked Kanji," A crowd?"

They walked over to the crowd of people and heard the music end.

_Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play.  
Now I need a place to hide away.  
Oh, I believe in yesterday.  
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm._

The audience clapped and cheered. Uninterested in the music at this time, the teens moved through the crowd and saw Nanako sitting at a nearby table, the bird standing on it, chirping.

"Nanako-chan!" Rise ran over to Nanako," We were so worried. Don't run off like that, OK?"

Nanako pointed at the singing man," But he fixed my bird!"

"What?" Rise looked at the man. He had grayed brown hair and his hands were very wrinkled. She couldn't get a good look at his face, but something was…familiar about him.

"Thank you, you've been a lovely audience!" the man said, waving to his fans," Now, drive safely!"

The fans dispersed, and the man turned towards his meal once gain, seeing the seven teenagers surrounding Nanako," Oh, you guys want autographs or something, because I don't do that anymore."

Rise now got a look at the man's face. That grayed brown hair, the British accent," Is that you, Paul?"

The old man turned towards Rise, instantly recognizing her," Oh, Rise! Just the girl I wanted to see!"

The others looked shocked.

"You know this guy, Rise?" Kanji asked nervously.

Rise turned to her friends, smiling," This is Paul, from LA!"

"Oh, this is Paul?" asked Chie.

Paul put his hand out to shake," Nice to meet all of you. Name's Paul, and I was the walrus."

They all looked confused, so Paul just sighed," Never mind. So, Rise, how've you been?"

"Why've you come to Inaba all of a sudden?" Rise asked," And since when did you know where I lived?"

Paul sat back at his table, grimacing at the sight of his tofu. He pushed it away and continued," There's this little website called Yellow Book, you should check it out sometime. Also, I wanted to see if you've been taking care of my turntable."

Rise looked confused," Turntable? Oh, yeah, the record player! Wait right here."

They waited as Rise ran into the store. A few minutes later, Rise took out a dusty wooden turntable. She blew some of the dust off and clouded the air.

Everyone coughed at the dust clouds, but Paul seemed used to it," Aah, I miss that smell it makes. So, I know this sounds awfully strange, but has something…ever become different when it's played?"

"What?" Rise asked, not understanding Paul's words," Um, no, but Yosuke might have some questions!"

Paul looked towards Yosuke with a piercing stare," Has anything strange happened to you with this turntable, Yooskay?"

Yosuke gulped nervously. He couldn't let a stranger know John Lennon was living in his head!

_Let me talk to Paul, Hanamoola._

"You know this guy?" Yosuke asked John," I mean, of course you'd know him, he's well…old."

_Just say what I tell you to say._

"And what'll that accomplish?" Yosuke asked.

_It'll make me happy.(:_

Yosuke felt a playful smile from John. He guessed that he might as well," OK, what do I say?"

_Say," John wants to know if you're still writing stupid love songs."_

"What!? That's just plain rude!" Yosuke argued to his persona.

_Say it…_

Yosuke exhaled and said to Paul," John wants to know if you're still writing dumb love songs."

Everyone looked at Yosuke in shock. Yosuke looked nervous, and was about to say sorry, until Paul burst out laughing.

"So, it's true, then?" Paul laughed," Tell John 'Yes, I am'."

Yosuke was more confused than ever. What was happening? Who was this Paul man, and what was his connection with John. The old man's eyes glimmered, and his smile was genuine. Paul knew something, Yosuke was certain of it.

_Oh, Paul you haven't changed at all. That sucks._

Paul said to Yosuke," So, he's inside you now, isn't he?"

The others looked on at Paul in confusion. Paul was still sitting quietly, expecting Yosuke's answer.

Yosuke answered," Um, yes, he is."

Paul nodded his head," I see," he took a CD case out of his coat pocket and gave it to Yosuke," I want you to have this. Keep it, and tell me what happens. My phone number's on the back."

Paul walked away," It was nice to see you, Rise, and all of your friends as well!"

"Bye Paul!" yelled Rise, waving," man, he sure is cool, isn't he?"

"If you say so," sighed Chie," Though, something seemed weird about him. Oh yeah, Yosuke, what's that CD he gave you say?"

Yosuke turned the case over and read out," '_Songs by George_'."

Yosuke didn't understand what this meant. He looked towards the others, but they were just as lost. Reunited with Nanako, they decided to walk back home as the sun started to set.

* * *

_So, do any of you know who the mysterious Paul is…?_


	7. Do You Want to Know a Secret?

_Sorry for the lack in updates, but I got caught doing an independent project. If you'd like to see the fruits of my labor, head down to Y-tube and type in YouzWillObey247, and click on "When I'm 64". Please comment and rate!_

* * *

**5/10 2012**

**Weather: Sunny**

**Time: Noon**

It was now noon at Yasogami High. In Ms. Kashiwagi's class, everyone was on the edge of their seats, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. For the past hour and a half, they had listened to a heartbroken Kashiwagi rant on and on (and on) about why all men are scumbags.

The sad teacher blew her nose with a Kleenex as she continued," You know, ladies, all of you in here should remember the three I's about men. What are they?"

Hoping for her to not yell out in anger again, the female students recited," Inconsiderate, Inept, Incompetent "

Kashiwagi made a faint smile," Good! You see, why can't I teach this instead of all of that boring crap? Get someone with lots and lots of money and power, divorce them, and live off wealth!"

Yosuke slammed his head on his desk with frustration," When will she shut up!?" he muffled out.

_This girl's starting to remind me of Jane._

"Jane?" asked Yosuke curiously," Who's she?"

_Oh, just some bitch Paul dated for a few years during our Beatle years. He hated her after a while, and even wrote some hit songs from his exasperation._

"Cool," Yosuke said simply to the rock star.

Finally, the bell rang, and almost immediately, everyone dashed out the door, leaving the crying teacher alone.

Yosuke continued his mental conversation," What songs did he write?

_Oh, he wrote a good one for Revolver one time. Kind of suckish, if you ask me, but, eh, I'm no critic._

"Can you play it?" asked Yosuke, hoping for another tune to listen to.

_Hey, it was Paul's song. I can't channel it._

"How does that make any sense whatsoever?" asked Yosuke.

_A 40-year old British man lives in the head of a young Japanese teen. Nothing makes sense anymore._

Yosuke said," True."

Yosuke turned around to a voice, and saw Chie run up to him," Why're you wandering around alone?"

The boy shrugged," Beats me. Man, did you hear Kashiwagi cry today? She was like a whale!"

Chie chuckled," Yeah, totally! And what was all that stuff she blurted out? A girl shouldn't marry just for money, they should do it for love, don't you think?"

_Don't answer that, it's a trap._

Yosuke pushed John into his mind and thought for an answer. Come on Hanamoola, think! Say something that's not idiotic!

Before he could think of an answer, he felt someone poke his back. He turned and saw the choir who had sung the song-o-grams last week," Hello?"

The leader of the group, a first year with glasses, asked," Do you mind if we sing another for Chie-senpai? This one's good, and her admirer REALLY wants her to hear it!"

_Admirer, Yosuke…_

Yosuke shut up the Beatle and said to the choir leader," Um, sure. But why, do you have to ask me? Chie's right here!"

Chie stepped up to the leader," Yeah, why ask him?"

The leader got a panicked look on is face," Wait, does that mean that you two aren't…You know what, never mind, we'll play it. Places, everyone!"

Yosuke and Chie watched as a second-year in the back came to the front, strumming a guitar, and the choir leader began to sing.

_You'll never know how much I really love you.  
You'll never know how much I really care._

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the choir went into full swing, and they all stepped toward Chie.__

Listen,  
Do you want to know a secret?,  
Do you promise not to tell?, whoa oh, oh.  


The group now surrounded Chie like a pack of Shadows. They had practically pushed Yosuke out of the way, and he waited for the group to finish, with a hint of jealousy in him.

_John: Be a man, Hanamoola, take your woman back!_

"Don't worry, John, it's only a song," reassured Yosuke," I hope."_  
_

_Closer,  
Let me whisper in your ear,  
Say the words you long to hear,  
(Group whispers ineligible words in Chie's ear.)_

Yosuke watched as the singing abruptly stopped, and the leader of the group whispered something in Chie's ear. Her face lit up almost instantaneously. What was going on?__

Listen,  
Do you want to know a secret?,  
Do you promise not to tell?, whoa oh, oh.  


Yosuke thought of leaving for a moment, but didn't want to seem weak. He leaned against the wall and was pushed aside by a few students as they and a bunch more crowded in the cramped hallway.

Yosuke heard a familiar voice through the crowd," Hey, move it!" Out from the dense crowd popped Kou Ichijo," Yo."

"Kou, how'd you know the choir was singing?" asked Yosuke.

"Oh, it's just that they're so loud today! I ran here all the way from the first floor to see what was going on!"

"If you say so," said Yosuke suspiciously.

_Closer,  
Let me whisper in your ear,  
Say the words you long to hear,  
(Whispers in Chie's ear once again.)_

There it was again! Chie was blushing madly again as the leader whispered in her ear again. Yosuke could see that Chie wanted to sneak out of the circle, but she was the center of attention.

"Great song, huh?" asked Kou, next to him," I've listened to this on my grandma's old turntable a few times, and it just stuck with me.

_John: You have a good friend, Hanamoola._

Yosuke ignored John and thought of Kou's suspicious words. 'I heard it all the way from the first floor?' The choir wasn't that loud, the guitar was acoustic, and all of the people who gathered were all people who were standing in the same hallway, all except for Kou. Now Kou says he knew this song? Hmmm…  
_  
I've known the secret for a week or two,  
Nobody knows, just we two._

Listen,  
Do you want to know a secret?,  
Do you promise not to tell?, whoa oh, oh.

Closer,  
Let me whisper in your ear,  
Say the words you long to hear,  
(Whispers in Chie's ear.)

The song ended, and the students around the group cheered. As the group left, and soon the choir, Chie just stood in the exact spot. Her knees were wobbling a bit, much like last time, and she hid her face with her turtleneck.

Yosuke walked over to Chie," You all right?"

Chie peeked out from her collar," is it finally over?," Her face was bright red.

"Yeah," Yosuke answered," What was that all about, anyways? What they whisper in your ear?"

Chie almost jumped back a few feet," W-what? Oh, nothing. Just…stuff," a faint smile formed on her face when she said 'stuff'.

_John: She's lying through her teeth. I'll tell you what they said. They said, and I quote-_

Yosuke walked over to the wall and hit his head hard on the surface to rattle John enough to incapacitate him for a few hours," And stay quiet!"

Yosuke wobbled back and forth, dizzy from hitting his head on the hard wall. Chie went over to him and steadied him, grabbing his shoulders," What's wrong with you? I'm talking to you, and you just walk over and hit yourself on the head on the freaking wall!?"

"Eh?" the boy shook the stars away from his vision and saw Chie holding him from the shoulders. In her eyes, he saw confusion, worry, and that look people give you to say you're acting stupid. She gave him that look a lot," I'm fine now. John was just babbling about something."

"John?" Chie asked, confused.

Oh, crap, none of them knew about the Beatle inside of his mind! Yosuke turned towards her and said," I-I meant Susano-o! J-john's my…friend at Junes!"

The bell rang, and Yosuke ran to his next class," See ya!"

Chie exhaled," Something's not right about him."

_Tomoe: What else is new?_

Chie turned around and head for her own class, thinking fondly of the words the choir whispered to her. She knew THEY didn't mean it, but she knew someone did. She turned her head back to the hallway Yosuke had run down a few moments ago. For a moment, she thought of something. Maybe…Nah, no way that would happen. She made her way back down the hallway, thinking…pleasant thoughts.

* * *

_Does anyone know the mystery words? If you do, please keep them to yourselves, I am trying to build suspense!_


	8. Mr Moonlight

**5/11 2010**

**Weather: Cloudy**

**Time: After School**

After school, everyone had decided to just go home to the Dojima household. Tomorrow would also be the last day of school before the long break before testing. Dojima had been gone for a long time, and it seemed everyone was beginning to forget they had people waiting at home for them. Nevertheless, they had made themselves at home, the guys (and sometimes Chie) leaving messes all over the place and having the girls clean up after them in case Dojima made a surprise return home.

Naoto, Kanji, Rise, Yukiko, and Teddie were all sitting around the TV watching the news, Chie was talking with Nanako in her room, and Yosuke was sitting at the breakfast table, waiting anxiously for Souji to give him a call to signal him to take everyone to the station.

On the TV, the announcers were now discussing a murder in the area. The same boring anchorman said, continuing the topic," And so, last night in the Inaba region, a young woman by the name of Joan Fushima was brutally murdered at her front door. The crime scene is being preserved right now, so let's go to our live reporter for coverage of the crime scene."

The scene then switched to live footage of a male reporter in a suburb, with a house littered with yellow tape in the distance," Thanks, Tom. It seems as if Ms. Fushima, age 25, was scheduled for a romantic outing with her American boyfriend, Maxwell Smiths, the night of her murder, May 10th. She was found by a neighbor and was described to have 'four bloody bumps on her head', which the crime scene investigators deduce comes from a blunt object, possibly a hammer. Of course, this broadcast will also detail Joan's wonderful life, including her deep love for pataphysical science…"

As the coverage of the murder dragged on, Kanji groaned," Can we change the channel? We've already had enough of this murder crap to last a few lifetimes."

Rise said," Gee, a murder so close to home? That's so scary."

Naoto said reassuringly," Don't worry, Rise. The surrounding area in that shot of the house indicates it can be as far away as past Senpai's hometown. This is just a simple deduction, however, so I'm not 100% sure."

Teddie saw that Rise now looked more scared than before. Being the ham he was, he said to Rise," Don't worry, Rise-chan, I'll protect you!"

Rise gave Teddie a warm grin," Aw, you're so sweet, Teddie!"

They huddled together on the couch, and Naoto groaned," It's so sweet, it makes me sick."

Suddenly, Rise let go and punched Teddie across the cheek," Watch your hands, perv!"

Teddie rolled off the couch with a loud thud," S-so sorry, Rise-chan," he collapsed," Ugh."

" And the natural balance of the universe has been restored," added Naoto humorously.

Yukiko snickered, and soon went into an all out laughing spree.

Up in Nanako's room, Chie was sitting with Nanako, confused," Nanako-chan, why'd you call me up here?"

Nanako said," Well, I've talked with everyone else here, but you're always with Yosuke-kun, so I wanted some time alone!"

Chie blushed," Hey, what do you mean that I'm always with Yosuke!? Did Rise put you up to this, cause if she did-"

Chie stopped as she realized Nanako looked frightened," I-it's just that you and Yosuke-kun are good friends, and I just wanted time to talk. Are you mad?"

Chie became guilty for snapping at the small girl, and apologized," I'm sorry, Nanako-chan, but it's just, everyone's been talking like that about me and Yosuke, and I just want it to stop!"

Nanako smiled at her happily," Wanna talk about it?"

Chie smiled back," Sure."

Yosuke waited more and more for the call to come. He flipped open his phone and looked at the time. 5:32 PM. He should've called two minutes ago! Wait, was he getting too obsessive, like Yoko!?

_Don't you talk about my Yoko-bunny like that around me!_

Yosuke acknowledged the presence of John in his mind once more," Sorry. John, am I being too nervous over this?"

_A friend you haven't seen in a long time is visiting?_

"Yeah, how'd you know?" asked Yosuke.

_I acted like this once when George made plans one time after the Beatles breakup. We were supposed to go out for McDonald's breakfast on the 29th of June, 1971. Bastard said he was going to New York to do something. Told me to watch the news, but I was so upset, I didn't watch TV for a week to piss him off. I still don't know how that made any sense, but I survived that brutal week without I Love Lucy._

Yosuke began to think if he could handle a week without TV in case Souji canceled. He shook himself out of his thoughts when he heard his ringtone, set to "Obladi-Oblada". He ran upstairs to answer privately in the bathroom.

Finally, he picked up," Hello?"

Souji spoke on the other end," _Hello, Yosuke?_"

Yosuke replied," Man, why haven't you called, I was worried sick!"

" _Sorry, but…"_

"Hm?" Yosuke felt something bad was going to happen," What?"

" _I can't come._"

Yosuke felt his legs go numb and almost went down to his knees. He quickly grabbed the sink counter and lifted himself up," Why not!?"

" _My parents. They watched the news and saw coverage of some hammer murder in Inaba. They think it's too dangerous."_

Yosuke argued," Dude, they left you here for a YEAR while three more deaths and a life-threatening fog occurred in Inaba!"

" _They never knew that, they were in America! Look, I can't come, I'm sorry, I'll visit some other time."_

"Wait, Souji-" It was too late. Souji had hung up. Yosuke dialed Souji five more times, only to go straight to voicemail," Crap!"

He heard a knock on the bathroom door," Yosuke, is something wrong?"

It was Chie. He opened the door and saw her standing there.

_John: So how could I dance with another (ooh)  
When I saw her standing' there-_

"Shut it!" Yosuke yelled at John.

_Sorry._

Chie said to Yosuke," What's wrong, and if you did something in there, please don't say anything."

Yosuke sighed sadly," It's nothing important to you."

As he walked back downstairs, Chie called," Everything concerning you is important to me!"

_John (singsong): Yosuke's got a girlfriend!_

As Yosuke looked back at her, Chie suddenly realized what her words meant, and tried to correct herself," I-I mean, just tell me what's wrong. We're friends, ya know?"

Yosuke looked in her eyes and saw them filled with a genuine concern for him. He also saw something else in them, but couldn't quite grasp the name of it. With great regret, he told Chie of his plans with Souji to visit for the holiday.

Chie looked surprised," And you ever told us about this?"

Yosuke sighed," It was supposed to be a surprise!"

Chie then showed anger, and yelled, gritting her teeth," That…_bastard!"_

_I told you, the first word anyone would use was "bastard"._

Hearing Chie curse, everyone crowded into the small hallway. Rise appeared at the front of the crowd," Chie-senpai what's wrong?"

Chie pointed at Yosuke," YOU tell them, Mr. Secret Plan Maker!"  
Yosuke said back," Do I have to tell everyone the bad news from now on?"

Chie sighed," Fine, I'll say it. This IDIOT and Souji-kun made plans to visit Inaba during break, and now he can't come, and I'm pissed!"

Yosuke tried to defend himself, arguing," It was supposed to be a surprise!"

Chie yelled back," We haven't seen him in a year, we deserve to know if he's coming! I can't believe you didn't tell us!"

"Well, he canceled, so it doesn't matter anymore," Yosuke practically yelled back," OK?"

He looked around him and saw everyone's depressed faces. Naoto grimaced coldly and stared at the floor. Kanji stomped down the stairs back to the living room. Teddie looked as if he would cry, and ran down the stairs with kanji. Rise bit her lip and walked back to the living room. Nanako had listened to the whole thing through the door and stayed silent. Yukiko stood silently in the hallway with Chie and Yosuke for a moment, then slowly walked, head down, to the spare room, locking the door behind her.

Chie looked at Yosuke, frowning," Now what do we do?"

Yosuke stayed quiet, so Chie walked past him and knocked on the door of the spare room, trying to console Yukiko. Yosuke walked down the stairs and went back to the table. What had he done wrong? All he wanted to do was have a nice surprise ready for his friends, and this is what he gets?

_You can't always get what you want, Hanamoola._

"What do you know?" said Yosuke irritably," That's not even your quote."

_It doesn't have to be mine to be true._

Yosuke crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair. Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere, the rock star turned silent, along with the rest of the Dojima household. After a few more moments of silence, Yosuke heard John yell out:

_Got it!_

"What?" asked Yosuke.

_Jump in the TV, I have a plan._

Yosuke looked at the TV in the living room," No way, dude. What're you planning anyways?"

Suddenly, Yosuke felt his legs go numb. Not like before, but suddenly, he felt them move on their own," What the hell?"

_We're talking to your friend!_

Kanji looked up at Yosuke as he stepped in front of the screen," Senpai, we're watching here!"

Yosuke gave up. He had no idea what John meant by 'talk to his friend', but he was desperate enough to try. He didn't want his friends to act like this towards him. Without thinking, he jumped in the TV. He heard Naoto, Kanji, Rise, and Teddie yell, then felt four pairs of hands grasping on his feet, trying to pull him back out, but soon the suction of the screen sucked them all into the TV World.

"WOOOOOOAAAHH!!!!!!"

* * *

THUD!

CRASH!

All five of them landed on the grassy plain of the TV World. Yosuke emerged from under the group and stood up," Why the hell are you guys here?"

Kanji stood up from the pile, yelling back," Why the hell did you jump in the TV!?"

Yosuke replied," John has a plan!"

Everyone got off the floor and just looked at him confused," John?"

Yosuke explained to the four in detail the mysterious voice from the scratched CD, John's presence as a persona, and his music having magical effects. It took him ten minutes to explain everything and was out of breath by the time he was done.

"So you're saying…you're nuts?" asked Kanji," Seriously, dude, who'd believe that?"

Naoto said," With all of the things we've experienced over our journeys together, I'm not that surprised."

Rise's eyes were wide open and her jaw dropped open," So that's what Paul was babbling about! Man, if I can do that with the Beatles, I wonder what I can do with Michael Jackson!"

Yosuke explained," So John here has a plan to find Souji and try to talk with him. I think it'd be better if I brought him out so he can tell you in person, though."

The four watched as Yosuke took out a blue tarot card and shattered it, calling the dead Beatle's name. Before them, materialized a 30 or so man with rounded glasses, long brown hair, a beard, and a brown jacket with a collared shirt. Before them stood a god of music.

"Cheerio," John said simply, stretching," It feels so good outside of Hanamoola's head! Imagine how cramped I'd feel if I had to share that space with a brain."

Yosuke looked insulted," Hey, quit joking and tell us what your plan is!"

The rock star said," Plan? Oh yeah, the plan to find your Sojee friend!"

John pulled out a paper with writing on it from his pocket," Your little teddy bear can locate things in this world, right? So, he sniffs out your friend, and we convince him to come!"

They all just stood there. It was the single most stupid and simplistic idea they had ever heard.

" Great plan, mister!" Teddie cried," I'll sniff with all my might if I have to!"

Everyone watched as Teddie walked to a clearing and inhaled deeply. They waited for a few moments, but Teddie just stood there, then watched as he frowned.

"It's no use," he whined," I can't get anything about Senpai!"

John laughed," I thought of that part, too. Hanamoola-"

Yosuke interrupted," HanaMURA! For the last f-ing time I'm Yosuke Hana-friggin-MURA!""

John said back nonchalantly," Yeah, think what you want, Hanamoola. Anyway, he said your bear needs some clue of someone's personality to find them. So, what was your friend Sojee like?"

Rise said quickly," He was nice, talented, a good chef, sometimes bad, fisherman, janitor, tutor, daycare assistant, translator, envelope maker, cross dresser, sane, cool, suave, had backbone, looked REALLY good in a swimsuit, quiet, never spoke much, AND… can talk to animals!"

They all looked at Rise in confusion.

Rise added," Don't any of you remember Fox? No offense, Mr. Lennon, sir, but me and Teddie's powers are limited to people and places already in this world."

John replied," So all you need is a little extra boost."

The others watched as John summoned a stage with wheels, with three grayscale copies of the Beatles standing on it with instruments. It was being pulled by a Volkswagen bus with a suspicious smoke coming out of the crack of a window.

Yosuke looked on at the stage and van," What the hell is this, John?"

John climbed onto the stage," OK, I'll play a song that matches your friend's personality, and Ted will lead the way."

John waved them onto the stage, but they all just stood there. Yosuke had to admit, this WAS a bit of a stretch. However, he had seen what John's music could do in the TV World and in the real world. He convinced his friends they might as well give it a shot. The five went onto the stage, each standing near their own band member: Yosuke was next to John, Rise was getting comfy near Paul, Naoto surveyed the strange stage while standing near George, and Kanji leaned against Ringo's bass drum. Teddie stood at the front edge, ready to locate Souji.

Just before John started playing, he told the others," So, I want you all to focus your attention on all of the memories you have had with Souji- good and bad, every little bit counts, 'kay?"

They all nodded, and John began to sang in a heartbreaking tone:

_Mr. Moonlight_

As the band began to play, Teddie told John," I caught a whiff of Senpai! OK, go…this way!"

The Volkswagen started to move in the direction Teddie indicated, and moved at a blazing speed of… 30 kilometers an hour? Eh, it was better than walking._  
_

_You came to me one summer night  
And from your beam you made my dream  
And from the world you sent my girl  
And from above you sent us love  
And now she is mine_

_I think you're fine  
Cos we love you, Mr. Moonlight  
_

Yosuke focused on every good memory he had had with Souji to keep the bus moving. He remembered the campout fiasco, where while he rejected the girls' cooking, he bravely ate it, gaining their affection, then bravely spat it out and was knocked unconscious. Then, while himself was the one who tried so hard to convince Kanji not to visit the girls' tent, Souji just told him to 'Go get 'em'. Come to think of it, they had been thinking on opposite ends on a lot of occasions.__

Mr. Moonlight, come again please  
Here I am on my knees  
Begging if you please

Yosuke had now burned through about half of his good memories with Souji, and took a small break. He decided to looked around at the group. They all had their eyes closed, thinking deeply. He saw as they all looked peaceful, Rise in particular, who had a big smile on her face. Or maybe it was because she had an excuse to try to snuggle with Paul. Kanji, however, was being thrown off track by the beat of Ringo's bass practically breaking Kanji's spine in pieces with every fourth beat. For some reason, it made Yosuke smile.

_  
And the night you don't come my way  
I'll pray and pray more each day  
Cos we love you, Mr. Moonlight_

He looked at the landscape around him, and saw that it had changed slightly. Trees had grown more abundantly in this region, carving out a path the bus had to follow, and in the distance, he saw a great big full moon. It seemed to grow bigger…and bigger… Suddenly, the bus slowed to a stop. He turned to John, who wagged a finger at him for not concentrating. _  
_

_And the night you don't come my way  
Oh, I'll pray and pray more each day  
Cos we love you, Mr. Moonlight  
Mr. Moonlight_

Now, Yosuke had to focus on bad memories to keep the bus going at maximum speed (which wasn't very maximum). He thought of all the times Souji had failed to save him from some Hama or Mudo spell. Oh, sure, he pushed _him_ away from fatal attacks, but _he_ never returned the favor? Some Leader. Yosuke then tried to think of another bad one, but no more came to his mind. That was it? THAT was the whole collection of bad memories he had of Souji? Wow, he must've been a really nice guy!__

Mr. Moonlight, come again please  
Here I am on my knees  
Begging if you please  
And the night you don't come my way  
I'll pray and pray more each day  
Cos we love you, Mr. Moonlight  
Mr. Moonlight  
Mr. Moonlight  
Mr. Moonlight

As the song ended, the bus finally came to a stop at where the forest ended, and a swirled desert began. In the distance, the full moon was now high up in the sky, shining down rays of light, which seemed to have a sort of healing sensation. Teddie jumped off the stage and stood in the wasteland a few meters away from the stage and van. The others got off the stage, which disappeared in a cloud of smoke along with the van.

"Well, Ted?" asked John," Got anything?"

Teddie stood on his tiptoes and pointed his nose up," Senpai's up there!"

"Huh?" Yosuke looked up and saw the moon. Could it be..?

Without warning, the massive moon dropped from the night sky like an anvil, almost crushing Teddie as it landed only feet away from the bear. Teddie was sent flying a few feet back.

Rise ran over to Teddie," Teddie, are you hurt?"

Teddie looked up at Rise," I'm fine now, Rise-chan!"

As Teddie went for a full-on hug, Rise forced his arms to his sides," They go behind your back until you learn to behave."

"Fine," Teddie grumbled. He got up and sniffed toward the moon, immense in diameter," Senpai's in here?"

"Something like that," mumbled John, walking past Teddie," The way to your friend is inside this here moon."

Kanji stuttered," S-so we crack the moon open?"

As soon as Kanji said that, the moon split in half and the two halves collapsed to different sides of the massive desert. Inside the crater was a vortex, elliptic in shape and moon beams shining out. John slid down the side of the crater to the bottom, walking towards the vortex," Ladies first, so Hanamoola, get your butt down here!"

* * *

**Time: Evening**

Souji approached his futon as he readied himself for bed. Wearing his same light gray thermals, he lay down on the floor bed, facing his TV on the other end of the small room. He still thought of the argument he'd had with his mom over going to Inaba. He brought her good grades, had stayed out of trouble, even saved the world from a massive fog, and he can't visit his friends and cousins for a week?

_They worry about you, Souji-san._

"I know that, Izanagi," sighed Souji sadly," But what're the chances I'd be murdered over there? I mean, there's a better chance of my friends flying into my room through the TV set!"

As soon as the words left his (mental) lips, the screen of his TV glowed with a white and black swirl. Suddenly, he saw a hand pop out of the television screen. A human silhouette then formed as half of a male body left the TV and entered his room. Souji tried to remain calm, and instead told himself the Ring girl would never come after him.

The shape then flew across the room and hit the wall a few feet away from him with a crash. Four more shapes entered and crashed into his room in a similar manner. Souji grabbed the golf club by his futon's side and readied his grip. One grueling year of fighting Shadows had sharpened his instincts to beat the living crap out of anything that came in silhouette form to death. He lifted the titanium club over his head and was about to swing downward when he heard Yosuke's voice," Dude, it's us!"

Souji looked at the five silhouettes and saw they had taken form of his friends Yosuke, Teddie, Kanji, Naoto, and Rise.

_Well, you DID say there was a better chance of this happening than a murder, right?_

Souji felt as if his brain had been replaced with a piece of string. There were so many questions, so many fears. Why were they here? HOW were they here? And worse, did his parents hear them enter? Yosuke stood up," Man, that hurts!" Yosuke then turned towards him," Sup, dude?"

Cautiously, Souji asked," Why're you all here?"

Souji was then overwhelmed by an overwhelming hug from Rise that brought him to the floor," Senpai!"

CRASH!

As the gray haired boy tried to get up, Rise then slapped him across the cheek," Ow! What'd I do?"

"Tell us the next time you're visiting, mister!" cried Rise loudly," We were worried- mmph, mrph mmph!"

Kanji had grabbed Rise from behind and covered her mouth and whispered," Shut up, idiot! Do you WANT us to get caught!?"

A knock was heard at Souji's bedroom door," Honey, what was that? Did you leave the TV on?"

It was his mom. Calmly, Souji replied," It's OK, Mom, I turned it off. Good night."

"Good night," His mom replied sleepily.

The six waited silently for Souji's mom's footsteps to subside and listened for her bedroom door to close. Souji continued," Anyways, why're you here?"

Rise removed Kanji's hand from her mouth and continued to tell Souji," We have been waiting for a whole YEAR for you to come visit! I mean, sure, you send us letters and junk, but _we_ have feelings, too, you know, and when's the last time you-" Kanji had covered Rise's mouth again and pushed her aside.

Yosuke now walked over to Souji," I've broken my vow of secrecy and I no longer deserve to be in your presence, commander," he said.

"Eh?" said Souji, confused with Yosuke's strange words.

"I spilled the beans to Chie," Yosuke repeated, flashing a sheepish grin," So, is it true you can't visit us?"

Souji let out a sigh of sadness and sat on the couch on the east wall of the room," My parents worry about me too much. They say I might get hurt over there, with the hammer murder and everything from last year. There's no talking to them."

The other five now had turned silent.

"Oh," Yosuke said sadly," So, there's nothing we can do?"

Souji shook his head," They say I can go visit right after the suspect's been caught. They'll even sign me out of school for a few days."

Yosuke perked up, raising his head," Oh, really?"

_That's not good._

Souji looked up and Yosuke seemed to be thinking of something. Sensing the boy's thoughts, Souji pleaded," Yosuke, don't."

Yosuke walked around the room, saying to the others," OK, people, Leader can't visit our little town unless the hammer murder is solved. So, anyone up for another case to solve?"

The four looked unenthusiastic about solving another case, so Yosuke added," We won't have to use our personas for this one, and with Naoto helping us, I'm sure it'll be a cinch! Come on, whaddya say?"

Souji stood up and said to Yosuke," Yosuke, don't get anyone involved. I don' want you guys to get hurt."

Yosuke protested," It's the least we can do! So, who's with me?"

At first, everyone looked reluctant, until Kanji said with a smile," Count me in."

Rise chirped in," Me, too!"

Teddie raised his hand in the air, waving wildly," Teddie wants to help Sensei, too!"

Naoto simply said," I'll help."

Yosuke turned to Souji with a sly look on his face," What about you? You up for this?"

Souji looked at Yosuke. By the look of things, he wasn't going to give up that easily. Giving up, Souji sighed," Fine. But, be careful, OK, guys?"

Rise went over to hug Souji," Aw, isn't that sweet? Senpai 's worried about me- I mean, us!"

The other four pried Rise off of Souji and leaped through the TV, saying their goodbyes. Rise left last, but quickly snapped a picture of Souji with her camera phone before leaping through. The gray haired boy, his vision blurred, felt his way back to his futon and went to sleep.

* * *

**Time: Evening**

It was quiet in the Dojima household. Nanako had fallen asleep in her room, Dojima was still away, and Chie had finally convinced Yukiko to come out of the room, only to come downstairs to see everyone was missing.

Chie wandered around in the empty living room," Hello? Guys?"

Nothing. Yukiko came down the stairs, and was just as surprised as Chie," Where is everyone?"

Chie shrugged, and sat on the couch," Maybe they went somewhere."

She turned on the TV, but the image of the news anchorman onscreen was blurred by a white and black tunnel. From the tunnel, a large shape crashed into her. Then, almost immediately, four more shapes crashed into the living room.

Chie sat up from the wreckage and rubbed her throbbing head. She took a look at what hit her and saw a brown head of hair at her knees," Yosuke!"

The boy looked up at Chie and gave a sheepish look," Probably wondering why I was in the TV with the others, right?"

Chie nodded slowly and the boy stood up, cleared his throat, and explained the whole situation to Chie, falling over from lack of air afterwards.

Chie looked puzzled after Yosuke's explanation," What do you mean, we have to solve another case?"

Yosuke explained," Souji's parents told him he can visit when the hammer murder suspect is caught and turned in, so, guess what we're gonna do."

"Pretend none of this ever happened?" asked Chie hopefully," because if otherwise, guess where my foot's gonna be."

Rise stepped into the conversation," Come on, Chie-senpai, it'll be a piece of cake! I mean, we have the Prince Detective here, and plus, no Persona this time around, either."

_Tomoe: Aaaw._

Chie was concerned with this, and showed it on her face. What _wasn't _there to be concerned about? They had no clues, no suspect, and no leads. Besides, why not leave it to the police to find out?

Just as she was about to protest, Yukiko said," So, he can really come home?"

Home? She was saying it like Inaba was more fitting for him than his own parents' house.

"Just as soon as we catch the killer!" answered Rise cheerfully, then added depressingly," Again."

Yukiko's mouth rolled into a smile, and her eyes glimmered with a shine that almost seemed to vanish after the many months of Souji's absence. Chie could sense Yukiko's pure joy just from hearing there was a possibility Souji would return to them. It made her feel bad about not wanting to solve another case. Still, it seemed dangerous.

Rise turned to Chie, sensing her reluctance," Don't worry, Chie-senpai, Yosuke-senpai will be protecting you 100% of the way!"

Yosuke got up from his spot on the couch in surprise," Me!? No way, Kanji's buffer! Besides, this killer guy's probably some nut job with a common hammer. Leave it _all_ to Kanji!"

Kanji, who had seemed to been sleeping a few minutes ago, had heard the others talking about him," Eh? O-oh, yeah! That killer stands no chance against Kanji Tatsumi!"

The whole household seemed to burst with life from the news of another case. Chie, once hesitant about solving it, was now pumped up to catch him, for the sake of Souji's return, and Yukiko's happiness.

Suddenly, Rise cried out, "Oh, yeah, almost forgot!" she took out her camera phone and flipped it open," I snapped a picture of Senpai before I left. Wanna see?"

"No way!" Chie crowded around the phone with Yukiko and Rise," Why does he look so scared?"

"Oh, I took it by surprise."

"Oh, he's gotten taller."

"He looks cute."

"…Kanji, why'd _you_ say that?"

"I-it wasn't me dammit!"

* * *

_So, what Beatles song is the news report and hammer murder case based on? If you know this, you are my friend. (:_


	9. The Interrogation of Maxwell Smith

_**NOTE:**__I seriously forgot the dates of any holidays or breaks in Persona 4! What with all of the school work and video projects, I haven't played it in about two weeks, and I'm too busy to watch any videos on the internet for a refresher. So, I said "what the hell?" and made up some dates. Ain't I a stinker?_

_**Second: **Have you ever watched a TV Show that you really liked? Then, it suddenly got this long plot arc that took away the humorous moments and if you missed even skipped on episode, you didn't get anything, which sort of dampened the quality (e.g., for me, Supernatural)? I feel like this is going to happen for me and this story. Don't worry, I'll try to add a little break chapter sometimes to compensate for any exasperation with the plot, but , bear with me for the next dozen chapters, OK?_

**

* * *

**

**5/12 2010**

**Weather: Cloudy**

**Time: After School**

RIIING!

As the final bell rang, happy students rushed out of their classrooms, overjoyed that they had a week off of school. Students ran out the school gate, while some still hung around the school for a bit before going out. Yosuke and the gang had wasted no time leaving school and organized themselves at the Dojimas' to discuss the murder in private. Nanako hadn't returned home and was visiting a friend at the time.

The front and back doors were locked shut, all of the curtains drawn, and Kanji had even nailed the bathroom door shut, which he got a strict scolding from Naoto for afterwards. As a final security measure, Chie locked the last unlocked window in the house, "Can we just get this over with now?"

Yosuke sat down at the breakfast table with everyone else, beginning their meeting, "OK, let the case analysis meeting begin!"

Before Yosuke could continue, Rise raised her hand, "Yes, Rise-chan?"

Rise asked, "Why are we having our meeting her instead of at Junes?"

Yosuke was about to answer Rise, but then, nothing came out. Why WERE they having the meeting here, anyway? They should've been at Special Headquarters like always! Was there some force above them that controlled their actions with the push of a button? Or maybe a computer key-

_Get on with it already, Hanamoola!_

"Well, we're here already, so let's just have it in the house," concluded Yosuke. "Naoto, what data do we have so far?

Naoto promptly pulled out a stack of papers, probably police records, "Two days ago, 25-year old Joan Fushima was murdered with a blunt object the eve of her date with boyfriend Maxwell Smith. According to police records, Maxwell is the prime suspect, for no logical reason."

"Anything else we know?" sighed Kanji, slouching and almost half asleep from boredom.

Naoto then pulled out a large map of Inaba and the surrounding areas. As she lay it on the table, she explained, "Joan was murdered about 50 kilometers away from the outskirts of Inaba, past the highway," Naoto pointed at a blue roof then moved her finger to a brown one, "Maxwell only lived on the other side of the highway, so he could've easily murdered her the night of their date with the hammer, if traffic was light."

_Hammer?_

"Yes, John, a hammer," answered Yosuke mentally.

_Joan, Maxwell, and a hammer. Sounds awfully familiar… Was the hammer gold, or nickel, or…what's the word? Platinum?_

Confused with John, Yosuke turned his attention back to the group, "Where was he the night of the murder?"

"He was driving down the highway to her house with a bouquet of roses," answered Naoto. " He got stuck in traffic, and judging by the time their date was scheduled, it would be impossible to make it on time."

The group all looked down in frustration, their brains throbbing with confusion. What were they thinking? They had no idea what they were doing. The only info they had was from the news, and the only possible suspect had the perfect alibi.

Suddenly, Naoto picked her head up, and looked at the map, "But there's another lead we have."

Hm? Yosuke looked at the map as Naoto searched for a building with her finger.

She finally found the place she was looking for, "Ten kilometers from Joan's house is a prison. Weeks ago, one of the convicts escaped mysteriously."

"What was his name?" asked Yosuke.

Naoto replied, "Unfortunately, the police is withholding the information. It's a long shot, but this prisoner might be the murderer."

"It'd be more helpful if we knew who the prisoner was, though," groaned Rise, "Or at least if they even _knew_ Joan or Maxwell."

Naoto replied, "Well, the prisoner who escaped was being held in the asylum. The records I have access to currently only have info on his appearance," Naoto turned her attention to the documents in her hands and read aloud, "Young Japanese male, short-to-medium black hair, and brown eyes."

"That could be anybody!" yelled Kanji, "It could be half of the kids in school, even Kou-"

"Why does Kou have to be part of this?" asked Chie suddenly, "He's such a nice guy, he wouldn't hurt a fly!"

Yosuke asked Chie skeptically, "Since when did you start talking about Kou?"

_Don't fold your briefs at the dinner table, Hanamoola…Seriously, two puffs from a Green Monster, and five hours later, all of these party guests you apparently invited are looking at you like you're crazy!_

"About five seconds ago," Chie answered, annoyed, "What's up with you, I can't mention a friend without you getting suspicious or something! By the way, why _are_ you suspicious anyways?"

Yosuke sunk slightly in his seat, looking away from Chie, "Uh…" No words came out.

For almost two minutes, the whole group sat in awkward silence.

Rise broke the silence, asking nervously, "Um, Aiya's, anyone?"

* * *

The group had decided to take a break with a visit to Aiya's. The place was packed with students, but they were able to get a table. The place had come into some money, so they had bought a plasma screen TV which was next to the menu board. The group ordered their food and continued to talk.

Naoto began, "I guess we can't talk about the murders at such a crowded place."

Rise replied, "But we do have something to talk about! For instance, Yosuke and Chie's drama over Kou. What is it? Is he hitting on you, Chie?"

Chie looked up from the table, snapping her out of any daydreaming. Hearing Rise's question, she said nervously, "Kou wouldn't do that, we're just friends!"

Like a private eye, Rise continued interrogating Chie, "Mmhm, and would you say he's a friend to you like you're a friend to Naoto, or is he a friend to you like you're a friend to Yosuke-senpai?"

"Would you shut up with that already!?" yelled Chie, standing up from her seat.

A few people stared at them, and Chie sat back down, "Look, it gets annoying when someone delves into your personal life. How would you feel if someone was always saying you and Teddie were together?"

Rise looked shocked, "W-what? What do you mean, me and Teddie! Like that could happen!"

Teddie, however, seemed pleased, "Me and Rise-chan? Well, if Rise-chan agrees, I'm all for it! Right, Rise-chan?"

Rise looked at Teddie, letting out a heavy sigh, "Gee, Teddie, you're a nice guy and all, but it wouldn't work out."

Teddie's smile reversed into a frown, and he stared at the floor, "What a sad day for Teddies everywhere…"

Rise then turned to Chie, "See? And _that's_ how you deal with your problems with boys! Just say yes or no, be a man! Well, not in that way, but you know what I mean!"

_I like this crazy chick._

Yosuke let out a mental groan, replying, "What are you, a pedophile now?"

_Hey, if I want, I can make myself 20 years younger with a little ditty I like to call "When I'm 64"!_

Yosuke snapped out of his conversation as he heard Rise speak to him, but didn't catch a word, "What was that, Rise-chan?"

Rise repeated, "I said,' Are you interested in Chie-senpai?'"

Yosuke, used to Rise always bugging him about this, replied calmly, "No."

Rise raised an eyebrow at the boy, "I'll ask again when you stop lying, Yosuke-senpai."

_Ooh, burn!_

Yosuke felt a chill down his spine. Everyone knew he and Chie didn't like each other, right? RIGHT? Before Yosuke could think of an answer to his question, their food arrived. As he broke his chopsticks apart to eat his ramen, he heard John lick his lips.

_Man that looks good! Can't you give your old friend one bite?_

"Get your own!" argued Yosuke.

After everyone finished, they got up to pay the bill and leave. However, they saw a breaking news report on the TV.

The announcer on the TV said, "Breaking News, just five minutes ago, local medical school teacher Ms. Ishijiku was found dead in her classroom, murdered in the same fashion as young Joan Fushima just days ago."

An ominous silence went through the crowds of people at Aiya's watching. It happened again? The group now felt their hearts sink as they watched the report. The worst part, there was nothing they could do to stop it.

The news report continued, as the announcer spoke again, "The body was found, again, with four bloody bumps on her head, possibly from a hammer, and witness reports say that Maxwell Smith, student at the school and boyfriend to deceased Joan, was writing standards in the room the time of Ms. Ishijiku's death."

Yosuke turned away from the report and called his friends, "Let's go, guys."

The others, realizing Yosuke was leaving, followed. "Where're you going, Yosuke-senpai?" asked Rise.

"We need to ask Maxwell some questions."

* * *

After a quick look on the internet, the group located Maxwell's house, and upon arriving on his street, saw a huge crowd of reporters surrounding the premises.

"Damn, there's no way in!" snarled Kanji. "Now what do we do?"

Naoto analyzed the crowd intently, "None of those reporters seem to be from Inaba, and I bet most of them haven't had a chance to interview Risette in person."

Naoto turned to Rise with a mischievous look on her face. Apprehensively, Rise backed away, "What's that look for?"

* * *

Yosuke, Chie, Naoto, and the others waited behind a building, prodding on Rise to step closer to the crowd of reporters.

"Get in closer!" whispered Chie loudly.

"You can do it, Rise-chan!" yelled Teddie. "We believe in you!"

Rise, with great regret, stepped closer to the reporters and yelled, "Hey, guys!"

The flash of bulbs from the reporters stopped momentarily as they looked towards Rise.

Rise cried, "Heeere's Risette!"

The crowd, with the yells of starstruck children, then ran after Rise, who ran down the street as fast as her skinny legs could carry her. Heck, even a police car of rookie cops chased her down the street!

"Run, Rise, run!" yelled Yosuke. He looked to the left and right to check for anymore reporters, "OK, they're out of sight. Let's go."

Yosuke led the others to the front door of Maxwell's house. He knocked on the front door and heard about a dozen locks unbolt, then saw the door open a bit, the top chain still on, "Hello?"

On the other side was a nervous pair of eyes, looking at each and every one of them with an apprehensive glare, "Are you the police?"

Yosuke answered, "Um, no, but we'd like to ask a couple of questions. We're.. from MTV?"

The man's eyes shifted left to right, then the door shut. A few seconds later, the door creaked open, and a rather frightened man stood at the doorway. He wore a plain white t-shirt, was in his boxers, and had a bathrobe on top. His hair was also brown and in a frizzy mess, "Come in."

They all stepped in, but Yosuke pushed Teddie out, telling him, "Call Rise and tell her to ditch the press."

The door closed, and the man led the remaining five to a pair of couches. Kanji, Yukiko, and Naoto sat on the three-seater, and Yosuke and Chie sat on the loveseat (Get it?).

The man sat in an armchair adjacent to them and asked, "You didn't have to lie to interview me. Name's Maxwell, but you all probably know that already. What do you wanna know?"

Naoto, being the detective, pulled out a notepad and pen. She then proceeded with her questioning , "What were you doing, writing standards in Ms. Ishijiku's class room, and did you ever see her…well, dead?"

Maxwell sighed sadly, and looked at his feet. Spitefully, he muttered out, "The same ol' questions. You're just like the police. I shot a spitball at the board, and she told me to stay after class. So, I wait behind, writing 50 times not to be so… I dunno, I forgot. Anyways, about me seeing her, well, DEAD. I went to the bathroom about thirty sentences in, and when I came back five minutes later, she was leaning against the blackboard, all bloody, a-and these bumps were on her head! She was just a bloody mess."

Naoto nodded to indicate she was listening. She scratched notes onto the pad and asked, "What about the night Joan was murdered? Where were you that night?"

Maxwell winced upon hearing Joan's name, and seemed hesitant to answer. Instead of answering, he shook his head, "I'm sorry, but it's too soon for me."

Yosuke, feeling Maxwell's pain, said, "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. We'll understand. I know how it feels to have someone you love taken away by death."

Chie looked at him dearly, "Yosuke…"

Yosuke continued, speaking from the heart, "OK, we know now by the way you reacted to Joan's murder that you probably didn't kill her. But her killer's still out there, and if we don't know this information, other people like Joan might be killed, and people like you will feel the same thing all over again! So, what do you say?"

Maxwell could feel Yosuke was speaking the truth. With a heavy heart and a lump in his throat, Maxwell began his tale, "I was…riding down the street in my Honda to pick up Joan," His voice began to crack, and his eyes started to shine with tears, "I had everything planned out. We were gonna see a movie, go out to a fancy restaurant, you know, usual date stuff. Then…," Maxwell reached into his pocket and pulled out a diamond ring, "At her door, I was gonna give her this, and ask her to marry me. But, all I found when I finally got there was police cars and yellow tape."

The mood darkened as Maxwell finished his explanation. They all looked towards the floor uncomfortably.

Moments later, Naoto finally stood up, saying to Maxwell," Thank you for your time. We have all that we need."

Naoto put the notepad back in her coat pocket and slowly walked out the door. Soon everyone followed. Just as Yosuke was about to leave though, Maxwell called to him, "Wait."

Yosuke turned around, "No, it's OK. We don't have anymore questions."

"No, it's just that, the way you all questioned me, and you saying that I didn't have to answer. It was exactly the way that old man questioned me earlier!"

Yosuke almost jumped back upon hearing this, "Old man? Did he have gray browned hair, a-and a British accent?"

Maxwell replied, "Yeah, that's the one. Said his name was Paul."

_Ah, my old buddy!_

Yosuke called his friends back inside, including Rise, who had just arrived, "Hey, get back in here!"

They all sat at the couches again. Yosuke asked, "What did Paul ask you?"

Maxwell replied, "Oh, he asked the exact same questions as you. Oh, and he also asked me if I owned a 'silver hammer'. Didn't know what that meant."

_Oh, so THAT'S what it was, a SILVER hammer! That's been bugging me all day!_

Yosuke shut up John and said goodbye to Maxwell, thanking him for his time. They all exited the house and walked back down the street to the bus station to go home.

"So, how was the chase?" asked Naoto.

Rise replied nonchalantly, "Eh, you get used to it. The real challenge was the police car, because that thing can maneuver corners better than the limos and vans I used to shake off."

"What about the case, though?" asked Kanji. "And what was all that silver hammer crap he was talking about?"

"Who knows?" said Yosuke, "We'll just ask Paul the next time we see him. We could search town, but we have to make sure Nanako's back home, first."

The seven rode on the bus back home in silence.

* * *

**Time: Evening**

The bus finally reached the Dojima residence, and the group entered the house.

Nanako, who was watching TV, greeted them, "Welcome home. Where were you guys?"

"Oh," Chie tried to think of an answer, "Um, Aiya's! Yeah, we were at Aiya's."

Nanako frowned, "On TV, this lady was killed with a hammer."

Seeing Nanako's discomfort, Teddie sat on the floor next to her, "Don't worry, Nana-chan, you'll always have Teddie right by your side!"

Nanako blushed and giggled, "Thank you, Teddie!"

Yosuke watched as Nanako embraced Teddie like he was a giant carnival prize. Then, he turned next to him and saw Rise seemed kind of jealous. It was funny how girls can be jealous of kids 9 years younger than them. With Nanako around, it seemed like they wouldn't be talking about the case anymore today. Besides, they'd have plenty of time to talk tomorrow, the first day of Spring Break. Tired from the constant travel today, Yosuke went up to the spare room to sleep in Souji's old futon. He was going to come visit sooner or later, so might as well make it comfy.

Just as Yosuke was about to lie on Souji's old bed, his phone rang. He flipped it open and read the number. Strange, it seemed very familiar. He answered it," Hello?"

"_Is this Yosuke Hanamura?_"

It was Paul. No wonder the number was so familiar. It was the same number on the back of the CD he'd given him, "What's up, Paul?"

"_Oh, I just wanted to make sure you listen to that CD I gave you._"

Yosuke remembered the CD. He was waiting for so long to have a listen to it, but with the new murders, he hadn't had time. He answered to Paul, "I haven't listened to it yet. Sorry."

"_Oh, it's OK. In fact, I'm glad, because I want you to do something for me._"

"Um, OK, what?" Yosuke had a bad feeling about this.

"_I want you to-_"

Yosuke continued to listen for Paul to continue, then realized the signal had been lost, "Crap."

What was it that Paul had wanted him to do? The boy dug into his pocket and pulled out the CD Paul had given him. It was in a generic case, but the CD had a professional label stamped onto the surface. It showed a picture of a young George Harrison, with the words '_Songs by George'_ to his left in red cursive letters. Paul seemed pretty serious when he was instructing him, so he put the case and disc back into his pocket.

Tired from the day's events, he lay on the futon. Despite the fact the lights were on, in seconds, the young teen was in a deep slumber.

_

* * *

_

_Sorry, absolutely no song for this chapter. I'm saving the silver hammer song for a different point in the plot, and by the time I finished writing this, I realized there weren't any appropriate spots for music that wouldn't stretch the chapter a few more pages. And remember: I'M the walrus. Not you… you're the eggman._


	10. The Hard Day's Pizzeria

**NOTE:**_ While watching TV a couple days back, I gained some inspiration for the story with a little concert show called "Paul McCartney: Good Evening, New York City". He was pretty good (save for a substandard singing performance of Blackbird), and proves that even today, old people (especially musicians) are still cool._

_**2ND**__** NOTE: **__UH OH, MAJOR BOO-BOO! In Chapter 6, I mentioned that Paul had a wife, but as it turns out, she's dead, and he divorced the other one! So, please ignore that, and I'll fix it before this chapter had even come up! I'm ashamed with forgetting such a minor part of Beatles history! *Prepares noose and stool*_

* * *

**5/13 2012**

**Weather: Rainy**

**Time: Afternoon**

Streaks of clear water hit the glass pane of the kitchen window of the Dojima household. Everyone was home, and would soon leave Nanako to search for Paul. The pitter-patter of the rain against the glass window was drowned out by the cheerful tunes of a cartoon playing on the living room TV. The seven teens were scattered around the room, preparing for the long search for Paul throughout the empty, watered down streets of Inaba. Even the walk down the sidewalk would be frigidly cold, the sting of the needle-like rain hitting their backs, and the haunting threat of pneumonia lingering over every last one of them.

Lack of a sweater? Check. Girls are still wearing skirts? Check. Using an umbrella as the only protection against a life-threatening cold? Perfect!

On the couch sat Nanako and Rise, with Teddie in the middle. Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder erupted from outside, shaking the windows of the house. Nanako, frightened, yelped out in fear, quickly squeezing against Teddie's left arm. At first, Teddie was startled, then as he got used to Nanako's warmth, snuggled closer to the seven-year old girl. Rise looked over at Nanako, still holding Teddie's arm tightly. For some strange reason, seeing Teddie enjoy Nanako's company made her…uncomfortable. Without thinking, Rise hugged Teddie's other arm, resting her head on Teddie's right shoulder.

Feeling Rise grab onto his other arm, Teddie looked at the two very cute girls grasping onto his arms. He felt a mischievous smile curl on his lips.

Yosuke sat at the kitchen table, anxiously waiting for the others to get ready. They had taken 20 minutes to prepare. It wasn't like they were going to put on any extra clothing, so couldn't they have just grabbed their umbrellas by now? Soon, he found himself scratching at the plastic case of the CD in his pocket. He quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket. As his hand left the case, he heard a faint bar of music pass through his brain, and disappear. He peered into his pocket. The CD was the same as ever. If Paul had to tell him something about the CD, he wanted to hear it soon. The music that went through his mind at that moment was…beautiful.

_Hey, what about MY tunes?_

"I've listened to most of your songs already," replied Yosuke, "I need something new. Besides, what I heard was…different. It wasn't a guitar, it was more twangy and exotic."

_Yeah, George sure loved that cheap ol' sitar._

Sitar? Well, whatever it was, he wanted to hear more from it.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Kanji say, "OK, we're ready to go."

Finally. Yosuke got up from the table and grabbed his umbrella, which was leaning to the side of the table. As they were leaving the house, he saw Teddie still snuggling on the couch with Nanako, "What're you doing, Ted? We gotta go!"

Teddie shook his head, "What if Nana-chan gets scared again? I don't think I could _bear _the thought of Nana-chan frightened in her own home! So, she'll need a Teddie!"

Yosuke heard Rise protest loudly as she stomped over to Teddie, "Oh, no, you're not! You're coming, mister!"

Rise, with a bit of visible jealousy, snatched up Teddie's umbrella, yanked Teddie from his free arm, and practically dragged him outside. Halfway out the door, she said to Nanako sweetly, "Be careful, Nanako-chan!"

Nanako, frightened by Rise's bi-polar attitude, nodded her head shakily.

Rise lifted Teddie off from the floor back to his feet and proceeded out the door, umbrella open. As she past Yosuke on the way out, the brown-haired boy could feel a mix of raging jealousy and preppy cheerfulness.

* * *

The group was now in the shopping district, two hours into their search for the old man. They had entered all of the buildings in the northern end, asking if they'd seen an old white man recently. The various shopkeepers had all given them the same answer: No, now buy something or get out. They were all cold, wet, and their feet were sore from walking through the deserted streets. They trudged along the wet sidewalk slowly, keeping their eyes peeled for Paul's brown ahir, wrinkled face, or his British tone. Yosuke took a quick glance at Marukyu Tofu, the place where Paul almost always hung out. Sadly, he was absent from his usual chair.

Yosuke heard Chie speak up, "Yosuke, can we go now? The weather report says it's gonna be sunny tomorrow, so we could check then."

Although he didn't want to admit it, Yosuke also wanted to go home. He was drenched, sore, and could feel a cold coming on. He sighed, "Yeah, sure. We'll check again tomorrow."

"Dibs on the shower!" cried Rise, skipping back down the street to the house.

The others all turned around and walked back, relieved to finally leave the cold streets. However, Yosuke wanted to find Paul as soon as possible. He was curious what Paul wanted to tell him about the CD, and the suspense was killing him. Everyone wanted to leave, though- even Chie, who's nerves were usually as hard as steel. Thinking of the girl made Yosuke's cheeks heat up. Luckily, the rest of the group was ahead of him, so they couldn't see him.

He walked slowly, not minding the patter of rain hitting his umbrella or the freezing cold around him. Instead, he focused on…something else.

He was thinking of the first song he'd heard from John, _Good Day Sunshine_. From thinking it, he heard the low piano intro to the song play in his mind. He quickly told John to stop playing. He wanted to remember this song the normal way, the way where he could barely remember the tunes in his head, and whistle them out off-key. He heard himself whistle out the melody of the verses, surprisingly on tune. It was kind of ironic, thinking of sunshine on such a wet day.

Even though he hadn't heard the song for more than a week, the lyrics were still fresh in his mind:

_I need to laugh, and when the sun is out_

_I've got something I can laugh about_

Suddenly, Yosuke let out a laugh. Surprised, he covered his mouth with his hand. Kanji and Yukiko turned towards him, each giving him a skeptical look. Yosuke wondered about his sudden laughter. John wasn't even playing the song. Yosuke was just thinking of the lyrics.

_I feel good, in a special way_

_I'm in love and it's a sunny day_

A flash of yellow light from where the sun would be behind the clouds hit Yosuke's eyes. He covered the light with his hand, and as soon as he lifted his hand, the flash of light was gone. That was weird. Again, John wasn't playing the song. Yosuke decided to just stop thinking of the lyrics and continue on his way home.

Yosuke then realized the group was far ahead of him, appearing as a dot on the stretch of sidewalk leading out of the district. He quickly ran up to them, trying to catch up. Suddenly, his foot hit a puddle and he slid forward, crashing into a conveniently placed trash can.

_CRASH!_

Chie suddenly heard a loud metallic crash behind her. "What the heck?" she turned around and saw a very familiar sight: a trash can rolling around on the sidewalk. She then watched as the can rolled off the sidewalk and into the street. Yosuke was flailing his legs like a mad man.

_Tomoe: Oh my god, you're in love with an idiot._

It was dark and smelly in the can. Desperately, Yosuke swung his feet around, trying to shimmy out of the metal cylinder. He heard the metallic clink of rain drops hitting the trash can. He could also hear running footsteps rapidly growing louder. There was also the embarrassing thunder of Kanji and Yukiko's laughter. If only he had a gun, or at least some earplugs.

From outside the can, he heard Chie's voice, "Yosuke, you need any help in there?"

"Yes please," he strained out.

He felt two pairs of hands pull him from the stinky depths of the trash can. He got up off the wet floor, dusting himself off. Around him, Kanji, Teddie, and (most of all) Yukiko were holding their sides as they laughed at Yosuke's misfortune. Naoto and Rise were trying their best to not laugh too, but instead smiled at him. Chie, however, had a mixed look of irritation and concern on her face.

"You're an idiot," she sighed, shaking her head. Suddenly, her face scrunched up. She pinched her nose and waved the air," Aw, and you stink, too!"

Yosuke looked at his shoulder and saw a banana peel resting on it. He flicked it off and looked on at it as it fell to the sidewalk behind him. As he lifted his head to look back at the group, he noticed a building behind him he'd never seen before.

"Hm?" he turned around and looked at the building. It was painted a simple light shade of orange. It had large glass shopping windows, the interior showing a couple of people eating pizza and a young white boy cleaning the counter. On the front was a banner that read '_Hard Day's Pizzeria Grand Opening!'_ A neon sign on the window flickered the words '_Open Eight Days a Week!'_.

Yosuke looked at the others, "Should we give it a try?"

The bell at the top of the door rang as the seven entered the shop. People glanced at Yosuke, who smelled of yesterday's garbage. Several of them scrunched up their faces and yelled at him to leave. Yosuke, unfazed by the staring people, went to the counter.

The boy at the counter looked up at him. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to mind the fact Yosuke smelled like a walking garbage truck, "May I help you?"

"Have you seen an old man with brown hair and a British accent?" asked Yosuke, "I'm friends with him."

The boy gave Yosuke a skeptical look, "Oh, really?" He turned his head and yelled into the kitchen behind the counter, "Grandpa, some smelly kid's here to see you!"

Smelly? Yosuke sniffed his jacket, and pulled his head back from the scent. From the kitchen came an old man with brown hair and a stained smock. His face was very wrinkled, and a curious look was upon his face. It was Paul.

Paul turned to the boy at the counter, "Thank you, Arthur." The boy went back into the kitchen and Paul turned to Yosuke, his face turning sour, "Dear lord, boy, where've you been?"

Yosuke grumbled out, "Trash can." he then said in a louder tone, "Paul, I was just wanted to ask you some questions."

Paul replied, "Oh, sure boy, anything. Now what is it?"

Yosuke, looking left and right, leaned closer to Paul and whispered, "Why were you at Maxwell's house?"

Paul, hearing Yosuke's question, raised his eyebrows, "Oh, that question. Come with me, and bring your friends."

Yosuke beckoned over his friends to come with him. Paul lifted the countertop and led the group to a staircase. They went up and found that they were in a living room.

This pizzeria was also Paul's home.

Paul led the group to a long leather couch in the center of the room," Make yourselves at home."

They left their umbrellas outside of the living room and sat down on the couch. Just as Yosuke was about to sit though, Paul wagged his finger. Yosuke asked, "What?"

Paul walked to a cupboard and opened it, searching, "I can handle my couch being wet, but that scent's gonna stick. Here we go!" Paul came out of the cupboard with a can of Febreze.

The man walked back to Yosuke and sprayed him all over. Paul waved his fingers, "The other side, now."

Yosuke heard Yukiko snicker on the couch. He hesitantly turned around and let Paul spray him all over.

"Armpits, too," said Paul.

"Oh, come on!" argued Yosuke.

Paul glared at Yosuke menacingly. The young brunette rolled his eyes as he lifted his arms. With a quick spray to each arm, Paul welcomed Yosuke to sit back down on the couch.

Yosuke finally fell onto the couch next to Chie. Paul sat at an armchair diagonal of the leather couch. He asked them, "So, what's on your minds?"

Naoto, sitting nearest to the armchair, asked," What was your purpose for coming to Maxwell's house, Mr.…"

"Smith," Paul answered. Yosuke could tell he was lying, as he almost let out a snicker after saying it. Also, he had heard the last name somewhere before recently. Surprisingly, Naoto accepted this.

"Paul _Smith_," continued Naoto skeptically," What was your purpose at the household of Maxwell **_Smith_**?"

_John: Worst fake name EVER._

Paul answered Naoto, saying nonchalantly," Oh, I just wanted to ask him some questions. Also, I had to comfort him, seeing as that's the kind of man I am."

Naoto, taking out the notepad from Maxwell's interrogation, scribbled into it. She then asked," And how did you comfort Maxwell?"

Paul pointed to the back of the room. Yosuke and the others looked towards the back and saw an acoustic guitar on a stand. Paul explained," I played him something. I played…_Yesterday_, if I remember clearly."

"Did it help him?" asked Naoto.

Paul laughed," I think I just made him even more depressed. He was crying like a baby. I guess you shouldn't play a song about heartbreak and breakups to a guy coping with a lover's death."

_John: This is why I stuck to psychedelic rock…_

Naoto continued her interrogation," What did you ask Maxwell about the murder?"

Paul shrugged, "I guess stuff like 'How're you doing?'' Are you sad?' I mean, what else do I ask him?"

Yosuke said to Paul," He told us you wanted to know if he owned a 'silver hammer'."

Paul was visibly startled by Yosuke's statement," H-he said that?" the brown-haired man laughed awkwardly, "Well, it's a common joke amongst us whities. You know, something you Asian folk wouldn't understand." Paul started to sweat, and wiped off a bead of sweat on his forehead," Especially those Filipinos, you know. I mean, you forget to have breakfast with the queen, and next thing you know, they try to throw you off the escalator at the airport!"

"Don't change the subject, Paul." sighed Naoto," We could clearly see you were troubled by Yosuke's statement. Now, why don't you tell us the truth?"

Paul sunk in the chair. He darted his head to the left and right. He looked back at the closed front door leading to the pizzeria below. He exhaled deeply and said to the group, "What time do you kids have to go home, cause this'll take a while."

* * *

Paul had moved the seven into the kitchen of the home. Beforehand, he had locked all the windows, put chairs on all of the doors, and nailed the bathroom door shut. After he was done with all of this, he took a seat at the crowded table.

"Listen," he said," Do you wanna know a secret? Promise not to tell?"

"We promise," assured Naoto, "Now please, tell us."

"Okay," Paul took a deep breath, then added," You might not all believe me, so I'm gonna start at the beginning. The year was 1966..."

_

* * *

__I'm not sure if this counts as a cliffhanger, but hey, at least this chapter's done! Next time, we learn (might) learn the mystery behind Paul's mysterious music magic. Wait, what am I saying? ALL music's magic! (Most of the time…)_


	11. Paul's Flashback I

**8/1 1966 **(_Yes, this date's correct_)

**Weather: Cloudy**

**Time: Evening**

_Paul reached into the back of his mind and tried to remember the whole event. It had happened 46 years ago in Tokyo, Japan. Paul and the others had just finished performing at the Budokan Hall, and have now spent the last 30 minutes trying to shake off some crazed Japanese fans._

Paul once again ducked into the smelly alleyway, narrowly evading a rabid group of fan girls. Next to him was fellow Beatle and rhythm guitarist John Lennon. They were the best of friends, and also extremely tired. They had switched limos about a dozen times, changed into wacky disguises, and even put on fake mustaches, and now the Asian fan girls were barely leaving them alone.

John exhaled with relief, "That was a close one!" He walked deeper into the alley, following their manager's plan to rendezvous back at the hotel.

Paul followed the taller man, trying to keep up with his slightly longer strides, "But man, did you see those women? The Filipinos were stir crazy, but most of these Asians look…nice!"

John replied with a chuckle," I hear you, buddy. What about that one lass with the long black hair? I think her name was Moko, Loko-"

"Yoko?" Paul corrected.

"Oh, yeah, yeah," said John wearily, "Now that's a woman right there! Who knows? I might see her tomorrow!"

Paul scoffed, "Yeah, then you two will get married, she'll break up the band, and you'll become some peace-preaching hippie!"

The two laughed at the idea. How absurd that would be!

They continued down the dark, emptied streets. Not an Asian was in sight. Figured. About half the country bought tickets to their bloody show. As John and Paul exited another smelly alley, Paul heard a voice from down the street, "_What do you seek?_"

Huh? Paul checked his surroundings. The only people around were him and…**where'd John go**?

The British 24-year old looked left and right, down the dark foreboding streets of the foreign country. It all looked so…CREEPY. If those J-horror films he watched on the flight over here were true, some little girl would be crawling after him right now! She'd have this long black hair, a white robe, a-and piercing red eyes!

Frightened, Paul ran down the alley, his heart pounding in his chest. When he reached the other end, he looked around for his friend. No one. "John, where the bloody hell are you?" he called out.

No reply. The only sound that followed was the echo of his own afraid voice.

This was just frightening. He was all alone in the dark streets of Tokyo. The only light he could see from was the flickering streetlight right above him and the distant streetlights about 20 feet away on either end of the deserted street.

The heart beat in his chest grew faster. He began to breath irregularly. In the corner of his eye, he saw a dark shape move. What was that? As he turned around to look at the shape, he heard the wind howl all around him. What the hell was going on here?

Wait. He couldn't see, hear, or smell anything, but he could sense it. Someone…somewhere…**something was watching him.**

The heart in his chest couldn't take it any longer. It would pop from such rapid beating, and he was practically hyperventilating.

He slowly backed into the alley behind him, ready to welcome the sweet release of death with open arms. It was then he felt cold fingers touch the back of his neck.

* * *

**PRESENT DAY**

**5/13 2011**

**Weather: Rainy**

**Time: Evening**

Old Paul paused his story. The teenagers around him were all on the edges of their seats, wanting to know what happened next.

"So, what happened after that?" asked Kanji, "Like, did you die?"

"Yes, Kanji, of course he died," answered Rise sarcastically.

Paul let out a deep sigh, "I did die a little on that day. However, a new part of me was also born."

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!_" Paul screamed at the icy touch behind him. He leaped into the air, the back hairs on his neck raised. He turned around and stared into the blank eyes of the Grim Reaper behind him.

After a long scream, he then realized he wasn't looking into the blank eyes of a reaper, but instead into the crimson eyes of a beautiful Japanese woman. Again, her eyes were red, her hair long and black, and she wore a…long…white…robe.

…

Uh oh.

"Who're you?" he asked cautiously.

The woman didn't speak, but instead looked downward.

It was then he realized the woman was not standing, but sat down at a table near the alley he was backing into. The table was covered in pure white cloth, and on it was a crystal ball.

The woman continued to stare into the ball. Was she some kind of swami? Whatever she was, he wasn't forking up any money. All he had on his person was a MasterCard and a couple of Mentos.

Suddenly, the woman spoke, "Would you like to know what the ball says, Mr. McCartney?"

Paul was shocked. Even though she looked Japanese, she spoke English in such a natural and eloquent way. He just stood there, not answering the woman. She then looked up from the ball into his eyes. He felt a burning sensation in the back of his skull as she stared into his soul.

Turning away from the woman's piercing stare, Paul replied, "Sure, whatever."

He looked into the crystal ball as the woman moved her pale fingers over the glossy surface. Clouds appeared inside.

"I predict," the woman began, "great success for you in the near future."

The clouds in the ball then began to shine with a yellow light. The light emitting from the ball nearly blinded Paul.

The woman continued, "Also, I see…conflict within. Guilt. A want- no, a _need_ for redemption."

As the woman uttered the last word, she looked into Paul's eyes once more. Was she referring to him?

The clouds in the ball grew dark, and a blackness swirled from within. Soon, the whole ball, once clear and pristine, was now a dull black.

Paul felt his heart sink. Was this supposed to be his future? A time of success, then turmoil? And what was this redemption about? He'd done nothing wrong.

"What does this all mean?" he asked the woman.

As he asked this, a faint smile grew on the woman's face. She lifted her fingers from the ball, and the darkness inside faded back to a pristine white.

"Do not worry," she said in a lighter tone than before, "These events are mere predictions. Speculation, if you will. However, I warn you. Watch where you tread."

"Y-yes," answered Paul instantly, "I will."

"Very well," the woman stood up. Standing, the top of her head barely reached Paul's chin. She outstretched her hand to Paul, "May I shake your hand? I love your music."

Paul was shocked. A few moments ago, the girl seemed so cold and distant. Now, she had a big grin on her face, smiling like a starstruck teenage girl. Maybe her vague telling of the future wasn't as serious as he thought.

Relieved, he accepted the girl's hand and shook it. Strange, her fingers were freezing. It was the summertime, so this seemed out of the blue. He decided to ignore it and walked back down the street to look for John.

Just as he left the table, he saw John run over to him from the sidewalk in front of him.

"Where've you been, man?" he asked, breathing heavily, "I thought the Japs got you for sure!"

Paul looked behind him. The table was still there, but the girl was gone. It seemed she'd gone somewhere.

He then turned back to John, "You could say that, I guess."

Suddenly, Paul felt a sharp pain in his stomach," Ugh!" He doubled over in pain.

"Paul!" John bent down and lifted his friend off the floor, "We've gotta get you home, man."

Paul felt John lift him onto his back and carry him down the street. He blinked slowly. The day was so tiring, so frightening. He closed his eyes and let himself drift into sleep on John's back. The pitch black darkness in his closed eyes reminded him of the appearance of the crystal ball from the mysterious girl. What had those strange foretelling mean? Before he could think further, however, he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**PRESENT DAY**

Paul paused his story once again, "And that's basically how everything began, I guess."

"Whoa," said Yosuke, "That was actually pretty creepy. Wait, how what began?"

Yosuke finally noticed that Paul was standing at the window, looking outside.

Paul said to the others, "It's getting late and it's pouring out there. You should all get home."

Yosuke followed Paul as the old man proceeded to the steps, "But we still need to know the rest!"

"Come back tomorrow," replied Paul, grabbing his stained smock from a coat hook, "I have hungry customers to attend to."

"B-but-" Yosuke was then interrupted by Chie.

"He's got a point, Yosuke," said Chie, then suddenly remembered a VERY important detail, "Oh, crap, Nanako's all home alone!"

Teddie stood up from his chair dramatically, letting it clatter to the floor behind him, "What! See, this kind of tragedy wouldn't happen if Rise-chan just let me stay with Nana-chan in the first place!"

"Why is it my fault?" asked Rise irritably, glaring at the blonde Shadow.

"Both of you just shut up so we can get home," sighed Kanji, passing the two.

"Kanji-kun's right," said Naoto, following him out the door. Quickly, she poked her head back into the room, saying, "Oh, by the way. Your love-hate relationship is giving me diabetes."

Naoto ducked back out the doorway, leaving Rise and Teddie very confused.

As the others walked out, Yosuke proceeded towards Paul, who was putting on his smock. He took out the CD Paul gave him from his pocket, "But what were you gonna tell me about this?"

Paul turned to the boy, gazing at the case, "Eh? Oh, that old thing," Paul let out a deep sigh, "I'll tell you about _that_ when you hear the rest of my story. It wouldn't make any sense if I told you about the CD before giving you all the background info, got it?"

Reluctantly, Yosuke nodded.

"Don't worry, though," reassured paul, "The story sure is a doozy!"

Yosuke then left the British man in the room to follow his friends.

_John: I guess I'll make some popcorn, then. Hey Blue Jumpsuit Man, where do you keep the popcorn?_

_Susano-o: Kitchen shelf, and my name is Susano-o!_

They all grabbed their umbrellas, which waited past Paul's front door. Yosuke was about to grab his, then remembered he had left it outside in the pouring rain for the past few hours. He hastily ran down the stairs and looked out the glass door of the pizzeria. What had once been his umbrella was now a snapped twig with a torn cloth on top.

Well, he was screwed. None of them had worn additional clothing in the past, and that umbrella was his only protection against a cold.

Yosuke heard someone run down the steps. He turned around and saw Chie walking towards him, "What's wrong?"

Head in his palm, Yosuke pointed outside at the snapped and broken mess in the road.

"Oh," said Chie simply.

It seemed the others were still at the top of the stairs. Yosuke just knew that they were listening in on them in secret.

Suddenly, Chie said, "Oh, I know!"

"What?" asked Yosuke.

Chie lifted her own umbrella, "We could just share mine. Besides," Chie began to look in the other direction as if she was shy of Yosuke, "Maybe we could listen to something on the way home."

WHAT?

_John: For the love of Hare Krishna, say yes!_

"Um, sure," agreed Yosuke, "That's be…nice."

As if on cue, a crash was heard at the staircase leading to the second floor. Yosuke walked over and saw that Rise, Teddie, and Yukiko were all in a pile near the steps.

Rise looked up at the brown-haired boy, "Oh, Yosuke-senpai! We were just, um…playing!"

Teddie ducked his head out of the pile, "But Rise-chan, you said we were spying on-"

Rise quickly covered Teddie's mouth, "N-no one!"

Yosuke rolled his eyes. Well, at least they were amusing to watch.

_John: I agree. Pass the popcorn, Crazy Fire Pillar Hair Man?_

_Susano-o: It's Susano-o, hippie._

_John: OK then, SUSAN._

_Susano-o:…(face palm)_

* * *

Outside, Chie opened her umbrella and the two tried to squeeze underneath. Chie's umbrella was (like all umbrellas in Inaba) specially designed to fit only one person, so this was a problem. After about five minutes of fussing around, they found that the only possible way for the both of them to remain completely dry under the umbrella was to be face to face. Also, the only way they could walk was to walk down the street _sideways_.

About five minutes into the walk back home, Yosuke and Chie were still struggling to wiggle down the street.

"Can you be any slower?"

"Well, it would help if you stopped ogling me, perv."

"For the last time, I'm watching my feet to not slip! And besides, _you_ insisted we share!"

"But not as an excuse for you to stare at me!"

A couple dozen yards away, Rise was watching the two argue, "Ah, young love, right Yukiko-senpai?"

Yukiko turned around and saw the two awkwardly squirm down the street. She soon found that containing her laughter was near impossible.

Chie and Yosuke could hear Yukiko laughing all the way from down the sidewalk.

Chie asked, irritated from Yukiko's laughing spree, "Could you at least play some music to drown her out?"

"Way ahead of you," Yosuke turned his attention to John, who was apparently arguing with Susano-o, "Your cue, John. Play something nice."

_John: I don't care how many monsters you've slain, Susan, but do you have a platinum album AND a Jaoanese wife? NO! (To Yosuke:) Wait, what Hanamoola? Oh, sure._

_Susano-o: (grumbling) I don't need this. I know Wind Break!_

_John: Snrk._

At Yosuke's request, music flowed into the earphones once again. Surprisingly, John hadn't added anything new, but had chosen a very familiar selection:

_Good day sunshine_

_Good day sunshine_

_Good day sunshine_

"Huh?" Chie looked up at him in surprise, "Out of all the ones you could've picked you picked this one?"

Why was she looking at him, _he_ didn't pick it (Of course, she had no way of knowing that.). However, the look in Chie's eyes didn't show she disliked the song, rather that she was embarrassed by it. Wait, why would she be embarrassed?

Yosuke answered back, "Well, I though you'd like it. It was also the first song we listened to together, right?"

Chie snapped her head away from Yosuke, "I-it's fine." Her cheeks were beet red.

Yosuke noticed that while Chie was turned away from him, she still glanced at him from the corner of her eye. One time she did this, he noticed she was smiling at him. He smiled back at her, then for a moment, they just stood there, each looking at the other from the corner of their eyes. After about a minute, they finally noticed the others were already gone from sight.

"Oh, crap!" exclaimed Chie, "We've gotta get a move on!"

Chie quickly (and absent-mindedly) swung her left leg forward, knocking over Yosuke and her in the process. Clumsily, they both crashed onto the wet sidewalk.

"Whoa!"

_THUD!_

* * *

_Well, we finally got a look at the past of Paul "Smith". Also, a little nostalgia played up in the final part._

_Oh, fine. Just review or somethin'._

_**Will Yosuke's questions about the CD be answered?**_

**_When will the next murder be, and who?_**

**_WILL I FILL ALL OF THE PLOT HOLES I LEFT IN EARLY CHAPTERS!_**

**_Find out next time, on Dragon Ball- I-i mean P4: Beatles Magic!_**


	12. Falling

_Finally back! What do I have to say? Read!_

**

* * *

****5/15/2012**

**Weather: Rainy**

**Time: Morning**

It was a quiet day in the town of Inaba, the streets empty due to the hard downpour of rain. The only audible sounds outside was the wind whistling through the trees and wind chimes, and the metallic clinking of large drops of rain hitting metal and tile roofing.

It was equally quiet in the Dojima household as the temporary residents of the small two-story were already up and ready to walk through the saturated streets to Hard Day's Pizzeria. (As usual, there was absolutely no change in their clothes except they each held a small umbrella. Sigh…)

While everyone else was waiting in the living room, Yosuke was still struggling to put on his left shoe. He sat on the hardwood floor, grunting and groaning.

"C'mon, c'mon!" he grunted as he tried to shove his foot in his Nike sneaker. He finally gave up and tossed it away, "What, did my feet grow overnight or somethin'?"

_JOHN: Well, it _has_ been almost a whole year._

"Yeah…"Yosuke thought suddenly about John's words, "Wait, what?"

_JOHN: Nothing!_

Naoto, who had been pacing near the front door for a couple of minutes, finally grew tired of waiting and sighed, "Yosuke-senpai, don't you have any other shoes to wear?"

Yosuke, taking off his other sneaker, replied, "Well, I tore a hole in my old ones when I fell in the trashcan yesterday," he remembered how awkward that was. Yet, it did help them find their lead in the murders. He continued, "If I had some help I could force my left shoe on. Kanji?"

Hearing his name, Kanji looked up from his spot on the couch, "Eh? No way, man. If I tried to help you, the least I could do is break your leg. Get Chie-senpai to do it, she's gentler. Maybe."

Chie stood up, objecting, "No way! I'm not going anywhere near his smelly foot!"

"Aw, come on, Chie-senpai!" Rise half said, half whined, "We need to get going already."

Naoto added, "The rain's getting worse in a couple of hours. If we don't leave soon,

We'll get soaked."

Chie just stood there, her eyes closed and rubbing her temples.

Naoto asked, "Uh, Chie-senpai?"

Chie spoke, her eyes still closed and her hands still on her temples, "If I'm going anywhere near his smelly foot, I need to gain my composure."

Yosuke felt embarrassed about the whole thing. He stood up and said, 'You know what, I think I'll just where my torn shoes instead. Anything to get a move on already."

Chie turned toward Naoto and nodded her head, "Yeah, I agree. I mean, it's no big deal, right?

Naoto replied, "Nonsense, Yosuke-senpai, in these conditions, you'll get athlete's foot by the time we get back," she then turned to Chie, "Just suck it up and help him slip on the shoe."

"But-," defeated, Chie sighed, "Fine, I'll do it. I'm holding my breath the whole time though."

Naoto smirked, "Just do it."

Yosuke slipped on his right sneaker easily, then tossed Chie his troublesome left one, "Be gentle," he laughed.

Chie rolled her eyes at him, "What makes you think I'd do that?" She grabbed Yosuke's left shin with her right hand and held the sneaker in her left. She took a deep breath, drew the sneaker back, and shoved it onto his foot.

Yosuke let out a small squeak and a tear fell from his eye, "That really hurt, you know," he let out painfully.

Chie stood up, "I made sure of that," she grabbed her transparent umbrella and head for the door, "You still don't have an umbrella, right?"

Yosuke, already up from the floor, had his left leg raised up. He answered, "No…"

"Too bad," she replied in a mocking tone and head out the door without him.

Yosuke, half crippled, stood there as the others passed by him out the door. He called to Chie who was already down the street, "Well, what to do I use to stay out of the rain!"

"Can't hear you," she answered in singsong.

_JOHN:…Does that qualify as a burn?_

_SUSANO-O: I'm not really sure. Is he in pain both physically and emotionally?_

_JOHN:…Yep, definitely a burn._

_

* * *

_Naoto had let Yosuke under her umbrella on the way to Paul's since Chie wouldn't let him under hers. She held the umbrella a lot lower than Chie, so Yosuke bent over with his back a full five inches.

"Thanks again for letting me share with you, Naoto-kun," thanked Yosuke.

"Don't mention it," answered Naoto, "Although I would appreciate it if you stopped hobbling. You might slip in the water and bring us both down."

"Well, it's not my fault Chie's so brutal!" defended Yosuke. He sighed, "Why's she so cold sometimes? I mean, recently, we've been getting along more. We hang out regularly, we listen to music, but now, she's pushing me away again."

Naoto was at a loss for words. She'd never been in a relationship or had a severe crush like Yosuke, but she tried her best to help him, "Um, well…maybe she's just embarrassed to be seen with you in a romantic way. So, through this initial embarrassment, she chooses to avoid the romantic part altogether by just avoiding you completely. Its human nature, and…"

After she finished her deduction, Naoto realized Yosuke hadn't been paying attention. He was looking through the transparent umbrella up at the rain as it fell. He looked as if he was thinking very deeply.

Naoto knew better than to disturb him while he was thinking so critically, so she quietly walked him to Paul's as the rain continued to pour.

In the front, Chie was walking briskly toward the diner, everyone else a good five meters away. She still felt terrible about hurting Yosuke so badly. It was meant to just be cute horsing around, but when she looked back at him with Naoto, she saw he was actually limping pretty badly. But what else could she do? She didn't want her friends to see she had actual feelings for the guy. Maybe hurting him and trying to avoid him in front of them just made it worse, cause it showed her denying him the way little kids stay away from the opposite gender to avoid cooties.

Through all the years she concealed her feelings and told herself otherwise, she had kind of forgotten why exactly she really didn't want to be with him. Was it because he was a jerk? No, that was what made him fun to mess around with and prove him wrong. Was it because he was ugly? Nah, he was a decent-looking guy, although she thought a select few boys were above him in looks. Or was it because she feared rejection?

Thinking on this, she accidentally tripped on a jutting rock and hit the sidewalk face first. She let out a yelp as she went down.

Yosuke, hearing Chie yell, broke out of his thoughts and saw her lying face down on the sidewalk, getting rained on hard.

"Chie!" he ran up toward her past everyone else and got to her as she pushed herself up.

He kneeled down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She was trembling, either from the cold or the fall, "Are you hurt?"

She was silent and looked down depressingly on the soaked floor.

Yosuke could see she was in pain, but raised his voice anyways, "Answer me!"

She showed Yosuke her right palm. It was all scratched up from the impact and rain falling on it was draining out the blood. Yosuke looked from the scratch to her face. There was a bruise on her left cheek that was bleeding as well. She was on the verge of tears.

Yosuke felt as if his heart had been wrenched out, "Chie…"

Suddenly, Chie grabbed hold of Yosuke's waist and sobbed into his shirt. Yosuke was surprised, but settled into it and wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her close. This may've been a sad moment, but it was also the closest moment Yosuke ever had with Chie. Without umbrellas, they both would probably get sick tomorrow, but he didn't care. Soon, he felt Chie stop sobbing and settle into his shoulder. A smile spread across Yosuke's face and he pulled her in closer, shielding her from the rain.

They sat there for a few more seconds until he felt that the rain had seemingly stopped because his head was no longer being soaked by incoming raindrops. He looked up and realized the rain was being stopped by an invisible force.

As if there was an umbrella….

_Oh crap._

He turned his head and saw everyone had caught up with him and now, they were just looking down on them, each with different expression. Kanji had an eyebrow raised, Teddie had his hands curled near his face in a romantic way, Yukiko had her mouth in an "O" shape that soon formed into a smile, Naoto was looking away, blushing, and Rise wore a smirk as she approached the two.

"Well, well, well," she began, "It looks as if you two look comfy."

Yosuke was embarrassed at first, but then remembered Chie was still hurting, "Rise-senpai, we have to get Chie back to the house. She scraped up her hand real bad, and has a bruise on her face."

Rise motioned to Yosuke to let her see Chie's bruises. Chie showed Rise her palm and bruise, still nestled near Yosuke (at this point, she really didn't seem to mind anymore).

After close examination, Rise concluded, "It's not that serious. Yukiko-senpai, don't you have any Antibiotic Gel in your purse?"

"Oh, do I?" Yukiko looked through her purse and pulled out a Medicine Kit from her purse and handed it to Rise.

Rise rummaged through the kit and got what she needed. She quickly squirted a dollop of Antibiotic Gel on Chie's palm and wrapped the bandage around it then squirted some gel on her bruise and put a band-aid on it.

"There, all better!" Rise said with a smile.

Chie wiped her eyes and smiled back, "Thanks, Rise-chan."

Kanji said, "Man, who knew Chie-chan would be one to cry from a _fall_?"

"Hey, it was a pretty loud fall!" argued Yosuke. He then said in a joking tone, "Of course, a head as hard as Chie's would make _any_ fall sound loud."

Hearing this, Chie stood up and socked Yosuke on the arm, "Watch it, pal!"

Well, the intimacy's over, thought Yosuke. At least things were back to normal. Before they knew it, they were already back on the way to Paul's house.

Except for one thing: Chie's umbrella was carried away by the wind in the fall, so…they had to share with Naoto.

"Move over!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you tripped!"

"Well, I wouldn't have tripped if it wasn't for you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Idiot."

"Battleaxe."

"…Imbeciles."

* * *

_So, not bad for the first chapter in months, right? I admit, I'm still getting into the groove of writing and this little piece was written in about 2 hours. I promise this story will have a proper ending and I won't put it on permanent hiatus._

_Reviews make everything taste better ^_^_


	13. Paul's Flashback II Part 1

_**Look, guys, I know I promised I'd be off my hiatus the second Chapter 12 was uploaded, but this chapter was just so long and time-consuming, I was worried it would never see the light of day (I can finally appreciate the length of the later chapters "In All He Sees Is Red" by Moyabomb…)**_

_**Anyways, due to the length, I'm separating this chapter into TWO parts, because from personal experience, I know how tedious it can be seeing your favorite author upload a new chapter =, then see the sheer length of the work.**_

_**So at nine pages, enjoy Part 1, read, then review :D**_

_**(Below is the Author's Note I wrote when I first wrote this.)**_

* * *

_I've started to get more into Filipino music…new fanfic? Nah, just kidding; most of you guys wouldn't understand the lyrics anyway :D but if you guys really want a more…exotic fanfic based on my culture's rock tastes, look up a Filipino band named Parokya ni Edgar. _

_Enjoy…_

* * *

**5/15/2012**

**Weather: Rainy**

**Time: Late Morning**

It was empty in Hard Day's Pizzeria that rainy morning. The only one in the lower level of the building was Paul's young grandson, Arthur. The other workers were still on their way to work, driving in the wet, slippery streets from the residential area. Arthur walked over to a switch on the wall of the entrance, flicked it on, then walked back behind the counter, swinging its red wooden top upwards to pass through. The blue neon sign outside that read "OPEN EIGHT DAYS A WEEK" flickered a couple of times before it finally turned on fully. The shop had barely opened at 10 AM, and it looked as if no one was going to come in. That is, except for the seven teenagers coming down the street right that second.

Rise opened the door and a ding came from the bell at the top of the door. The young white boy at the counter looked up and greeted them in a dull, robotic tone, "Welcome to the Hard Day's Pizzeria, would you like to try our Glass Onion pizza, made with freshly imported onions?"

Rise raised an eyebrow as she approached the counter and replied, "Uh, no thanks. Is Paul here?"

The boy rolled his eyes annoyingly and turned his head towards the kitchen behind him, "Gramps, those kids are here to see you again!"

_Hanzeon: Whoever this kid is, he's a jerk._

No kidding, Rise thought back to her persona. When she looked back up, she saw Paul walk towards the counter, wearing a white smock covered in flour. He wiped his hands on his apron and looked up at Rise. Once he saw who she was, he said with a smile, "Rise! How's it going?"

Rise smiled back at the old man, "Fine. Hey, is it okay if we can listen to the rest of that story today?"

Paul looked up at the ceiling as if he was thinking, "Gee, I really got a lot of orders today, so…"

"Oh, then it's fine," Rise answered disappointingly, "We'll come back some other time."

Seeing how sad Rise looked, Paul quickly added, "But I'll just get Arthur to deal with them!"

The boy next to Paul cocked his head at him, his eyes wide, "What! B-but Gramps-"

Paul wasn't paying attention to Arthur and instead lifted up the countertop and invited the teens upstairs. As Yosuke passed Arthur, he heard him grumbling underneath his breath angrily.

Upstairs, Paul invited them back into the seats they sat in last time, with Yosuke sitting left of Chie on the couch.

As he glanced at her, he noticed the bandage on the left side of her cheek. Earlier, the bruise had seemed a lot bigger, but now that the tension of the moment was gone, it was actually only about an inch in diameter. He couldn't see her right hand, but remembering how bad the cut was, he didn't want to be reminded of it, anyway.

"Um, how's your hand?" asked Yosuke under his breath, as if he didn't want anyone to know he actually cared about her bruises (although they already probably knew).

Chie whispered back, "It's fine. A little sore, though." She started rotating her right wrist and looked down at her bandage. Yosuke also watched Chie's wrist curiously, seeing her pale skin contrast with the redness of the bruise beneath the gauze wrapped around her palm. At least she was fine.

Naoto, again sitting at the end of the black leather couch, closest to Paul's armchair, took out her notepad and pen, flipping through pages and clicking her pen open. She switched into her detective mode (which was never really off) and stated to Paul, "From where we left off yesterday, you told us that you had an encounter with an unusual girl in downtown Tokyo, not far from Budokan Hall, in the middle of the night. From the point where you shook her hand and looked away, you say that she seemed to have disappeared. Correct?"

Paul nodded, leaning forward and slouching in his chair. His hands were folded under his chin and he fluttered them playfully.

Naoto continued in the same interrogative tone, "Afterwards, you met fellow band member John Lennon and had a fainting episode. This is where you left off yesterday. Correct?"

Paul smiled an innocent smile and answered coyly, "You just love stating the obvious, don't you, lass?"

Naoto seemed offended at first, but shrugged it off, "It's my job to state the obvious, I guess." Yosuke noticed she had a soft smile on her face. He thought, I guess even Naoto Shirogane can't resist the charm of a Beatle.

Paul leaned back into his armchair, sinking into the aged leather. He stroked an imaginary beard on his chin and looked up at the ceiling. Naoto raised an eyebrow. Finally, Paul began, "So, after I fainted, I woke up again in the airplane back home to Britain. I was being told that I was going to be examined at a hospital so as to see I was in a well enough condition to continue my career."

* * *

**8/5/1966**

**Weather: Cloudy**

**Time: Morning**

"OK, now tell me: number 1 or number 2?" The doctor flipped a switch between two different sets of numbers.

Paul, sitting in the examination chair, had been in this hospital for three hours now. He'd been examined everywhere on his body (and I mean _everywhere_) where he could've gotten cancer, the flu, or any other sickness, and had checked out with perfect health. He looked at the doctor who had examined him. He was short and stout, and his brown hair was balding away at the center.

He was getting sick and tired of taking the eye exam, so he sighed to his manager, who was on his right, "Brian, we've been through this for hours! Can't you just accept I'm healthy?"

Brian Epstein, being the firm but caring man that he was, replied, "Just four days ago, I had to watch John carry your ass back to the limo on his shoulder! If we hadn't driven away the press an hour before, that would've been in the papers. Now, I'm gonna make sure you are healthier than JESUS before you walk out that door, you understand me?"

Paul looked away from him and mumbled, "Yeah, yeah."

What had happened in Japan? Who was that mystery girl he had met? Was what she said true? And why did he faint so suddenly? As he slipped out of his thoughts, he heard the doctor calling for him to say A or B this time. They both looked the same, so he guessed B.

"All right, Mr. McCartney, you're done," the doctor let him out of the chair and said to him, "From your test results, there seems to be no logical reason for you to have fainted back in Tokyo."

"So, can he still tour?" asked Epstein, standing next to the bass-playing Beatle.

"Yes, he's healthier than Jesus," the doctor replied, "I'll send your bill in the mail and your next health check-up's two months from now."

Just as the two were about to leave for the studio, the doctor called to them again, "Wait, Mr. McCartney!"

Paul turned to the doctor again. Out of the chair, the short, pink middle-aged man only came up to his chin.

The man explained humbly, "Now, it's been a great honor to have you here and examine you and have a photo of your testicles in our files here…"

_Oh, don't bring that up again_, thought Paul, rolling his eyes to the left.

"…but would it trouble you to play one song for us? J-just one, we know how busy you are and all."

Paul looked at the short man. His eyes were gleaming at him, showing excitement and anxiety for his answer.

He was about to respond, but Epstein answered, "Sorry, but we really have to begin recording. Paul has this new song to show us, and-"

The doctor interrupted," Oh, that would be wonderful! Show us your new song, Mr. McCartney!"

Paul looked at Epstein, looking for his approval. Paul knew what his manager's answer would be; Brian Epstein was a firm, frugal man who put most of his thought into The Beatles musical progress and how much money he could squeeze from each performance. However, the man was also fair and was not immune from granting small favors. He sighed and nodded heavily. Paul turned back towards the doctor, "Sure. Do you have a guitar?"

As if it was planted there, the man pulled a Gibson acoustic guitar out from the filing cabinet (how did it fit in there?) and handed it to Paul, "It's already tuned. I'll show you where you'll be playing."

The short man walked Paul and Epstein down the clean, pristine halls of the hospital. Nurses walking past them smiled and winked at Paul as he strided down with the Gibson's neck gripped in his left hand at his side. They then entered a dark room at the end of the hall marked 2-B. As Paul walked in, the doctor opened the blinds at the window that revealed a young man in a coma in the center of the room. He was white, had brown hair, and was on life support at the time. The machine detecting his heartbeat beeped slowly and steadily.

Paul didn't know what to say. As he searched for words, the doctor said to him, practically whispering, "Danny's been in this hospital for a couple of days. He was using the crosswalk when a driver came out of nowhere, hit him, and dragged him halfway down the block. We barely got Danny back from the brink of death. Sure, he won't remember this, but it'd sure be nice."

Paul held back a tear at the doctor's story. He nodded, "I understand. Could you all give us some privacy? I'd appreciate it."

The doctor and Epstein walked out and closed the door, leaving Paul alone with the boy. Paul saw a chair near the wall and pulled it up near the bed. He stared down at Danny's unresponsive face. He already looked freshly dead. On the wall was a record of his condition so far. From the looks of it, he wasn't getting out of this bed anytime soon.

He wasn't getting out of it _alive_, at least.

With a sigh, Paul readied the guitar on his lap and plucked on the strings, creating a complex, peaceful tune.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly_

_All your life_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise_

He continued to strum and noticed that a smile began to creep on Danny's face. Paul raised an eyebrow, but continued to play.

_Black bird singing in the dead of night_

_Take these sunken eyes and learn to see_

_all your life_

_you were only waiting for this moment to be free_

_Blackbird fly, _

_Blackbird fly_

_Into the light of the dark black night._

The plucking of the strings became louder and more intense. Music filled the room and he could see people looking into the room through the window on the door. Ignoring them, he looked back down at Danny. This time, he saw his eyes flutter a little. Paul was startled by it, but luckily, he made no error on the guitar. What was going on?

_Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly_

_Into the light of the dark black singing in the dead of night_

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly_

_All your life_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise,_

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise_

At the final strum, he heard a bird chirp outside. A nice touch to the song's end. A muffled applause was heard from outside the room's semi-soundproofed doors. He knew what Epstein would be thinking: waste of a perfectly good three minutes.

He didn't care, at least that kid would have a final memory of- wait, _was he sitting up?_

Paul rubbed his eyes to make sure he was really seeing what he was seeing, but Danny, who had seemed stone cold dead just minutes ago was yawning and looking around. He, too, did a double take when he realized Paul McCartney was at the side of his bed.

The young man's face drained of color, "I-I-it's P-p-p-"

Paul tried to calm him, "Easy kid, you don't wanna go back in that coma, do you?"

Danny was puzzled, "Coma? I-I wasn't in a coma, I was just sleeping. I think."

"Well, what exactly do you remember?"

Danny took a deep breath and began, "I was walkin' back home from school, and I saw this cute girl standing in the crosswalk. She was real pretty, she had this long black hair, white dress, sort of paleish skin, and her eyes were-"

"Red? Maybe even…_crimson_?" Paul asked skeptically. This was beginning to become a familiar image…

Danny was astonished, "Yeah! She was beautiful. So, I went up to her to ask her why she was just standing there, and she vanished in like, this blue flash! Next thing I know, I hear this car approaching, I turn around, I'm knocked out."

"The car hit you," Paul assumed slowly, "This was a few days ago?"

"Yeah, I think it was August 1st. What's today?"

"The 5th." Paul answered.

"So this was four days ago?" Danny asked himself, "Damn. I missed a lot of homework."

Paul laughed, "Very funny, kid. Listen, I'll get the doctor and tell him you're all right."

"M'kay," Danny answered. He lay down again in the bed and watched Paul as he went to the door.

As Paul opened the door, Danny called, "Mr. McCartney?"

Paul turned towards the boy, "Yes, Danny boy?"

"That song? It was great," Danny said with a smile, "Thanks for playing it for me."

Paul said back with a slight smile, "Anytime."

* * *

**PRESENT DAY**

**5/15/2012**

**Weather: Rainy**

**Time: Late Morning**

Paul paused for a moment, then said, "Danny's a real good kid, so if anyone deserved a miracle, it was him."

Naoto wrote down the details of the story in her notepad, the sound of flipping paper and scratching from her ink pen prominent in the room. All else was silent inside the upper level as the rain outside fell.

As Naoto finished up her notes, she looked back up at Paul, "And what happened after you left the room to tell the doctor?"

Paul exhaled deeply and began once again…

* * *

**8/5/1966**

**Weather: Cloudy**

**Time: Morning**

As Paul was closing the door behind him, he saw a blue flash in his mind. He then suddenly felt his head pulse, and a ringing sound buzzed in his ears.

"What the hell?" he strained through his teeth as he held his head. He collapsed to his knees and the ringing noise in his ears grew louder, then suddenly subsided.

The pain was gone, too, so Paul let go of his head, stood up, and looked around. The hospital's pristine halls were now empty. That was unusual; just moments ago, there was hospital staff waiting outside to applaud him.

Paul looked down each end of the hall, then took a step to the right to investigate. As soon as he took the step, he heard a loud whoosh of air behind him. He turned around and saw a girl with pale skin, long black hair, and red eyes dressed in a long white cloak.

It was the girl from Japan.

She stepped forward slowly towards Paul, a haunting stare on her face.

Paul's breath caught in his throat. His eyes opened wide and he took a step back away from the girl. Why was she here? _How _did she get here?

As soon as he took the step back, the girl suddenly disappeared, then reappeared right in front of him, her crimson eyes piercing straight through him.

Paul yelped out as he fell backward on the clean porcelain floor. The girl stared down at him menacingly.

She stretched out her hand to the Beatle and the menacing look on her face melted into a hollow stare.

Paul, still shaking from her sudden appearance, gripped her hand and she pulled him back up to his feet.

Back on his feet, Paul asked in a frightened voice, "What are you?"

The girl answered in the same eloquent English that she spoke in Japan, "My name is not important at the moment," she turned away from Paul and walked down the empty hall slowly, "Now, about what you just did in that room…"

"What I did?" Paul wondered, "You mean what happened with Danny? That was _you_?"

The girl looked back at him, her crimson eyes half open and bored-looking, "I was not supposed to unlock your potential yet, but it seems as if someone intervened."

Paul raised an eyebrow, "Potential?"

In a flash, the girl appeared right in front of Paul once again. Paul was startled again, but not as much as when she had first done it.

She said, "When we touched hands in Japan, I had unlocked your ability to heal others."

Paul replied, "So, with the boy, that was me bringing him out of his coma?"

The girl nodded, "I did not know how you would use your power; usually, it comes out in the user's subconscious, showing itself when it's needed and when a certain act is performed. In your case, it was when you played music."

Hearing this, Paul said to himself in a low voice, "This sounds like something from a quickly written parody story…"

The girl continued, "There are other abilities I may have passed onto you unknowingly, but I will not know which ones I gave you until you use them."

"Wow…" Paul said wearingly, practically breathing it out, "I-I think I need to sit down, you know, to take this all in."

The girl snapped her fingers and a red cushioned armchair materialized under Paul, dropping him into it.

He was surprised by the sudden appearance of the chair, but said in a sarcastic tone, "Thanks, could I get chips with that, too?" He held out his right hand as if he was holding something to complete his joke.

The girl smirked at him and with another snap, a small bowl of fries materialized in Paul's hand. He almost dropped the bowl under the sudden weight, but held it up again, "Uh, thanks, I guess." He wondered whether he should eat one or not. Eh, whatever; this chick scared the crap outta him, the least she could do was buy him lunch. He put one in his mouth and it seemed to melt away.

The girl walked over to the chair and stood at its side, looking down at Paul, "I guess that I'll return you to your world, now. Do not forget about our conversation."

Paul swallowed down the fries he'd stuffed his mouth with and said, "But before you send me back, could I at least ask what your name is, lass?"

The girl shut her red eyes and smiled, "All in good time, Paul."

She snapped her fingers and the vision in front of Paul went white, then faded to black.

* * *

**PRESENT**

Paul paused for a moment and relaxed into his chair more, "You know, the chair she summoned for me wasn't as soft as this one. I got this from IKEA, it had lumbar back support, and it was a steal!"

Naoto mindlessly wrote down Paul's IKEA testimony before realizing it wasn't relevant to the investigation. She muttered a curse under her breath as she scratched through the unwanted words with her pen. When she was done, she asked, "Can you tell us more than your trip to the shopping center, Mr. Smith? This investigation is serious, and we have no time for games."

Kanji added, "Yeah, we've been here for two hours and we haven't heard shit from you that could actually help us!"

Yosuke broke in, saying, "But Kanji, don't you see? The girl Paul keeps talking about- white robe, pale skin, red eyes, blue flashes- sound familiar?"

Kanji replied, "Well, yeah, of course, that's-"Kanji thought for a moment, stroking his chin with his right hand, then finally grumbled, "Fine, just tell us."

Yosuke sighed deeply at Kanji's density, "It's Izanami, remember? Powerful demigoddess from the underworld, bent on helping the world get what it wants for better or worse?"

Kanji replied absentmindedly, 'Oh yeaaah- wait what?"

Naoto replied to Yosuke, "What Kanji means is he remembers, but he's just a bit surprised," she turned her attention back to Paul, "Is that what she told you her name was?"

Paul shook his head, "No, she answered with a much less bizarre name. She said her name was-"

Before Paul said her name, everyone heard Arthur call from downstairs, "HEY GRAMPS, THERE'S ANOTHER BLOODY KID HERE FOR YA!"

Paul sprung up from his armchair immediately, "That must be him!" He then grabbed his smock from the hook near the door and hurried downstairs.

Naoto, closing her notepad, asked the group, "Shall we follow him or stay here until he comes back?"

Yosuke stood up from the couch, "You guys stay here, I'll go check on him." Yosuke went through the door and walked quietly down the stairs and stopped halfway down so as to hear the conversation downstairs without being detected.

He could hear Paul talking with a young teenage boy.

He sounded kinda familiar. Where did he hear that voice from?

He then heard Paul say, "Nice doin' business with ya, Mr. Cow Itchygo"

The teen with Paul sighed, "For the last time, it's KOU ICHIGO."

_Kou!_

Yosuke went down to the kitchen and saw Paul and Kou shaking hands. Paul spotted him out of the corner of his eyes and greeted, "Yosuke, I'd like you to meet Mr.-Itchygoo, right?"

Kou was about to correct him, but decided against it and instead held his head in frustration, whispering under his breath, "Damn Brits never learn…"

Yosuke replied, "Yeah, I know him, we go to school together." Yosuke walked over to Kou and said, "Hey man, what're you doin' here?"

Kou looked up and saw Yosuke. He instantly put a smile on his face and greeted, "Hanamura, what's up?"

Yosuke answered sheepishly, "Uh, fine."

The two just stood there for a little while in an awkward silence until Kou broke it, "So, how do you know Paul?"

"Oh, uh…" Yosuke tried to search for a story that didn't involve murders, magical music, or mystical Japanese goddesses. He finally came up with a story about how he bumped into him at Junes until Paul answered:

"Oh, the boy's here because apparently, he can channel the spirit of my long gone friend and colleague."

_John: Ah, Paul; always screwin' things up, why don't ya?_

For a moment, Kou just stared at the two blankly. Yosuke prepared himself for inevitable questioning of whether they were on LSD until Kou laughed.

"Haha, man, Paul, you've always known how to make me laugh," Kou replied.

Yosuke heard someone coming down the stairs and turning around, saw Chie practically being shoved down the stairs by five pairs of hands.

"Hey, knock it off, I'm downstairs already!" she growled at the five pushers. When she turned toward Yosuke and Paul, she converted her growl into a smile, "Er, what's up?"

Kou began to look to the side awkwardly, "Uh, 'sup, Chie-chan."

Chie, seeing Kou, said, "Hey, Kou, what're _you_ doing here?" Yosuke couldn't help but notice the wide smile that appeared on her face upon seeing the black haired boy.

When Kou looked toward Chie's voice and realized it was her, Yosuke saw that he turned a little nervous, "Oh, uh, Chie-chan, nice to see you here."

Chie walked toward Kou and stood next to Yosuke in front of him. Kou and Yosuke were about the same height, so Chie's head was level with Kou's nose. She replied to him, "So, whatcha doin' here?"

Kou replied, looking slightly to the side, "Well, after I graduate, I was planning on going to study abroad. But I'll need some money, so Paul here offered me a job as cashier here."

Paul laughed, laying a hand on Kou's shoulder, "Yes, with Cow here at the register, I'll be sure to attract the town's sweethearts to my shop."

"Aw, thanks, Mr. Smith!" Kou said to Paul warmly.

_John: Y'know, he's actually a pretty nice kid._

"Yeah," Yosuke thought back blandly.

It was true, though. Kou was the nicest (and according to all the first-years, the cutest) guy at Yasogami. Once in April, he even saw Ms. Kashiwagi stop him in the hallway to ask him for some help with her "desk" being moved (God, Yosuke hoped Kou made the right decision).

The bottom line was that Kou could probably beat him in every category, and in Chie's eyes, he'd probably be the better choice. What did he himself have to offer anyways? A history of bad-gone-worse conversations and an occasional free steak at Junes (if his father continued to overlook the miscalculations Yosuke purposely made in inventory so he wouldn't notice)? At least Kou knew what he was after; maybe if he got together with Chie, she could go with him abroad if he was telling the truth about that.

Still, with all this doubt in his mind, Yosuke still remembered the precious moment he shared with Chie just a couple hours ago out in the rain. He felt something there that he knew deep down that Chie felt, too.

Yosuke's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the bell at the front door ring and saw two girls he recognized from the school walk in. One was a second year he used to see snooping around the library after school and the other was a first year who was in drama club.

The second year looked toward the counter and asked, "Are you guys open?"

Paul quickly draped a clean smock from a nearby hook onto Kou's shoulders and shoved him to the front register. "Make me some yen," he whispered into Kou's ear before going back upstairs.

Chie followed Paul back upstairs. "You comin', Yosuke?" she asked halfway up.

Yosuke thought for a moment, then without saying anything, followed Chie up. He could hear the girls giggle downstairs when Kou asked to take their order. He rolled his eyes as he walked through the door back into Paul's living room.

**END PART 1**

* * *

_Well, that's the end of Part 1! Part 2_ will come out as soon as possible (if it doesn't end up being 9 pages long…)

But anyways…

**What is Kou doing here?**

**What was the name Izanami gave Paul?**

**ARE THE ARMCHAIRS AT IKEA REALLY THAT COMFY!**

**FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON PERSONA 4: THAT STORY WITH REALLY LONG CHAPTERS! .**


	14. Dojima's New Partner

**5/15/2012**

**Weather: Rainy**

**Time: Morning**

_**Yasoinaba Police Department…**_

It was louder than usual in the Yasoinaba Police Department that morning. In fact, it had been like that all week. Cops from all over Inaba had been called to the station to work together in solving the silver hammer murders.

Beeps from faxes, dings from coffee machines and rings from phones filled the background while the chatter of detectives and shuffling of files occupied the foreground. The station was set up in an organized fashion, the ground floor lined with rows of cubicles filled with white collars, either working on the case or settling 911 calls. In the back was a small open area with a vending machine, a folding table with a couple of folding chairs, and counters lined with coffee machines, various creamers and sweeteners, and a sink for tap water.

A hallway next to the break area led to where the main work was held; the detective's offices. Each one had a separate room with a desk, a small television, and a file cabinet. In the corner room of the hallway was Detective Ryotaro Dojima, proud buster of punks and even prouder father of Nanako Dojima, currently being cared for by his nephew's friends.

Dojima had been practically living in the department for almost two weeks, originally to settle a simple, boring car lawsuit, but had stayed in order to help solve the murders. Running on only black coffee and small bags of assorted chips from the vending machine, Dojima was working his hardest and smartest so that he could return home to his daughter and make it up to her for being away for so long.

Currently, that wasn't on his mind right now.

Dojima was fast asleep on his desk, drooling on an opened file of the deceased Yuu Shinjuku (thank god the station had extra copies). Last night, the middle-aged detective was interrogating a suspicious young man he found walking down the street wearing a bloody white T-shirt and carrying a bloody hammer in his hand. After Dojima took him down to the station and performed his classic one-man "Bad Cop, Worse Cop" routine on the man, he admitted to him that while nailing a board, he had accidentally crushed a squirrel's head with his hammer head and the blood got over him. Dojima was so pissed he put the guy in the slammer all night for harming the wildlife and drank from the secret stash of beer locked in the bottom drawer of his desk until he passed out.

Someone was knocking on the door loudly at that time, but Dojima was fast asleep. A few seconds after the knock, the man who was knocking unlocked Dojima's door, went over to the drunken detective and smacked him upside the head to wake him up.

Dojima grumbled annoyingly as he awoke, slowly opening red eyes, "What is it, Kurosawa?"

Officer Kurosawa was one of Dojima's new higher-ups, recently transferred from Tatsumi Port Island's police department. He was a tall, rigid man that had a hard stare most of the time but a warm smile on the very few occasions it appeared.

Kurosawa scolded, "Dojima, what're you doing sleeping on the job? You know staying overnight at the department doesn't count as overtime, right?"

Dojima groaned in pain as he clutched his hung-over head. However, he still responded, staggering to his feet, "I'm not here to be paid, Kurosawa. I'm here so that I can help solve the case in any way I can."

"That's what I like to hear, Dojima," said Kurosawa, his tone complementing but his face still serious, "But if you really wanna help with the case, there are two things you have to do for us. One, clean up that file, it's got your drool all over it."

Dojima looked at his desk and saw a gray blotch of spit on the Ishijiku file. He shrugged, picked it up, and dropped it in the wastebasket next to him," What's the second thing?"

Kurosawa sighed, as if he was about to give a long lecture, "What have you noticed about the other detectives around here, Dojima?"

Dojima thought for a moment, then replied sarcastically, "They actually wear their jackets instead of just carrying it over their shoulder? I dunno, I pay attention to more important things; like this case. Now stop playing these games so I can work on this again. _Alone._"

"That's the thing," Kurosawa said, "You're the only one working with yourself."

Dojima was puzzled at Kurosawa's words, "Eh?"

Kurosawa sighed, then explained, "In order for you to work more efficiently so you aren't worked to death all day and all night, you need a partner."

Dojima continued to look puzzled, his eyes glazed over, "Uhh, partner?"

Kurosawa sighed again, frustrated, putting a hand on his head, "That guy you usually have running around, getting your coffee."

"Ohhh," Dojima replied. He then turned away from Kurosawa and sat back down at his desk, getting back to work.

Kurosawa tried to get back Dojima's attention, "Dojima-"

Dojima interrupted Kurosawa, explaining in a heavy tone, "I don't need a partner. They only slow me down, and last time I had one, he turned out to be a serial killer, remember?"

Kurosawa replied, "Yeah, but this time, you've got nothing to worry about. We got you someone who's clean, smart, and the best at what he does."

"You already got me someone without my permission!" Dojima practically yelled, "I've already told you in the past, from now on, I work alone!" Ever since Adachi had turned on him, Dojima promised himself he wouldn't risk that ever again. The guy was even in his own house, playing with his daughter and even ended putting her in the hospital.

Kurosawa told Dojima, "You don't have any choice now. Your new partner's coming here as we speak."

Right at that moment, a knock to the theme of "Shave and a Haircut" was heard on the door.

"Speak of the devil," Kurosawa announced as he walked over to answer the door.

He swung it open and invited the man in. Dojima looked up from his chair and examined the man. He looked maybe 35 years old, he had his brown black hair gelled back, and he had a scar (maybe a shaving cut) on his chin. He was Caucasian, had blue eyes, and in his coat pocket, Dojima noticed a pair of broad, black sunglasses sticking out with an unusual blue glow on the rims. In the back of his mind, the man seemed familiar…

Kurosawa was holding the man by the shoulder and introduced him, "Ryotaro, I'd like you to meet Norman Jayden, from the FBI in America."

Dojima widened his eyes as he heard the name. So that's who he was! He remembered hearing a news report about how in America he had played an important role in the capture of the Origami Killer, a serial killer of young boys by drowning them in rainwater. He immediately stood up and shook Norman's hand, "It is an honor to meet you, Detective Jayden. I admire your work."

Jayden smiled back and replied in a New York accent, "Thank you, and you're Ryotaro Dojima?"

Dojima's name came out of Jayden's mouth awkwardly and slowly, but he forgave him for it, "So, looks like we're gonna be partners in this case, eh?"

Jayden paused for a second, then replied in a pleasant tone, "Looks that way. It'll be a pleasure working with you, Detective Dojima."

_The guy seems friendly enough_, Dojima thought, _and with his prior experience, I'd better treat him with more respect than I did Adachi…_

Kurosawa said the two men, "Well, I guess I better let the two of you get to work," Kurosawa went to the door, but then turned back toward the two and added," Oh, I almost forgot," he pulled out a file from his jacket and held it out to Dojima, "This is the latest list of our suspects so far, updated last night. I suggest you take a look."

Dojima was about to accept the file, but Jayden said to Kurosawa, "If you don't mind, Officer, we won't be needing that. I already had the file downloaded to my ARI device last night when it was updated."

Kurosawa gave Jayden a confused look, "_ARI?_"

Jayden pulled the broad sunglasses out of his coat pocket and showed them to Kurosawa, "Artifical Reality Interface. It's the latest crime solving technology in the FBI, and it's proven to be much more efficient than physical files. If it's all right with you, I'd rather stick to _my_ method."

"Oh," Kurosawa replied plainly, "Well, I'll just leave the file with Dojima just in case you need it, all right."

Jayden nodded in agreement and Kurosawa handed Dojima the file before leaving.

After Kurosawa left, Dojima closed the door and said to Jayden, "Well, make yourself at home. It's not much, but I'll ask the guys to bring in a separate desk for you. For now, we'll just share."

Jayden nodded, "Fine by me."

Dojima replied, "Just let me grab another chair from outside for you, OK?"

Jayden nodded again, and Dojima left the room to grab a chair. Outside, Dojima looked at his watch. 9:12. Great, his break wasn't in three hours. Well, at least his workload would be cut in half since he had a partner he knew he could count on. He quickly grabbed a spare folding chair from the supply closet and made his way back to the offices.

He opened the door inside and saw Jayden already sitting at his own desk. He would've praised him on getting to work so quickly, but he didn't seem to be doing _anything_. He was wearing the sunglasses from his pocket, there was a black glove on his right hand, and he seemed to be swatting the air with his hands.

He was no Adachi, but he was still a _very_ strange partner.

**Like it so far? It's not Part 2, but that's going to be quite a while before it''' be complete, so to hold you off, I give you what I hope will be positively received, Dojima and Jayden!**

…**Well, it won't be **_**called**_** that, but it's basically going to be Dojima and Jayden investigating the murders themselves, so every couple chapters, I'll throw this in so I can gets some me time :D**

**Just so you know, Norman Jayden's not **_**my**_** character, he's a playable character in a certain game on the PS3...so name that in the reviews and I'll give your very own pair of ARI glasses! (not really lol)**

**But until then…**

**WHAT IS JAYDEN DOING WITH HIS HANDS!**

**WHAT IS KUROSAWA DOING IN THIS STORY!**

**AND WILL DOJIMA REMEMBER HE PUT SOME GUY IN THE SLAMMER LAST NIGHT!**

**All of this and more on…P4: Beatles Magic! (That's starting to become a very gay sounding name to me…)**


	15. Gecko Ending

**8/30/2011**

**Weather: Hot as Hell**

**Time: Evening**

* * *

_Helllooooo loyal fan base wherever you are and if you exist, but I'm baaack. :D_

**_-_- Yeah, you _wish _I said that, but this is just an author's note. _**

_This is Waka here telling all you lovely people that I will soon abandon this story. YAAY :D- I-I mean NOOOO D: (typo FTL)_

_Why would I abandon this wonderful story which has my best writing and story (in my opinion) yet? Welll, reason one, I'm getting bored of both Beatles and (very sadly) Persona 4. Wait, who am I kidding, I'll never get tired of P4, but the Beatles? Phbbtt. Over and done with. -_- You now how you have those songs you listen to all the damn time over and over again cuz you _know_ that you'll never get tired of 'em, right?_

_Hehe, NO. I got tired of them a while back and now I'm more of an alternative, Pinoy kind of guy._

_Two? This story didn't go the way I wanted it to go AT ALL. Honestly, those Silver Hammer Murders? They were filler and they weren't supposed to be here. However, instead of erasing it, I just went along with it like a dumbass, posted the chapter, and made the whole damn storyline about "OMG new mystery involving Beatles"! No, the real story was supposed to be a lot more subtle and Chie/Yosuke centered with some Rise/Teddie thrown in aand (bare with me) _slight_ Naoto/Yosuke whaaat?_

_And reason Three, I just plain have writer's block. At first, I wanted to write this story, then I wanted to write my own novel for the world to see, then I wasnted to write an original comedy and I eventually just burnt out, said "Fuck it, I'll just play some tunes" (which I did)._

_But if I ever feel like it, I'll delete this story and rewrite the whole thing from scratch, the way I wanted to, and maybe change the band to a more obscure one I like, maybe Parokya ni Edgar (a Filipino Rock group), or implement more Heavy Rain into the story (which also was never supposed to be there) or maybe just go with a straight Chie/Yosuke. I don't know, but school's starting again soon, and if I do rewrite this story, I promise less hiatuses, more development, and less typos if Microsoft Works can pick them up. :D_

_So, to end this glorious series, I present…well, nothing. That's it, it's over for now. :D Hope to see you in the reboot, guys. Final hug before we say goodbye? (^_^)_

_**GECKO ENDING FTW**_

**FINAL NOTE: My new PenName will be SecondAsian and if I do make a reboot, I'll make un update…**


	16. Gecko Return: Dojima's ARI Glasses

_Oh, what's this? A new addition to your resurrected series, P4: Beatles Magic!_

_Now, this addition is a Dojima & Jayden chapter so I can ease myself back into writing. This series has been revived for one reason: reviews._

_One, reviews make me happy. They show me not only is my writing being read, but it's also cared about. One of the reasons I stopped writing way back when was because I didn't get enough reviews. It sounds selfish and petty, but it's true: reviews inspire and motivate writers to write the next chapter._

_Two, I want reviews. Not "LOL" or "cool", I want reviews that show me you cared. I want criticism, I want praise, and I want proof that you guys want me to keep writing._

_This chapter I did with no motivation besides to continue this story, and I'd be happy to see it through until the end….if I get enough motivation through your thoughtful and heartfelt reviews. _

_Until then, enjoy!_

* * *

**5/15/2012**

**Weather: Rainy**

**Time: Morning**

_**Yasoinaba Police Department….**_

Folding chair still grasped in his hands, Dojima still stared curiously at his new partner through the open door. He had never seen such a strange occurrence at these offices before. Well, except for the Christmas party two years ago where Adachi got drunk and was waltzing with a cabbage in his hands.

After a while, he decided to walk in and ask Jayden what he was doing. He walked in, closed the door behind him and placed the still folded chair against the wall. The New Yorker didn't seem to notice his presence, since he was still moving his hands through the void space in front of him. Dojima waved a hand in front of his face to try to get his attention.

No reaction. He tried calling his name.

"Uh…Jayden?" he called, luster lacking in his voice.

Still, the foreign detective was still swiping his hands through the air. Dojima had had enough of this crap. He needed to get some work done today if he was going to get closer to solving this case, and closer to seeing Nanako again. He slammed his fist on the table in front of Jayden.

"Norman Jayden!" Dojima practically yelled, "It's Dojima!"

Jayden was startled by Dojima's call and quickly pulled off his thick sunglasses. He looked toward Dojima, panting, "Jesus, Dojima, you scared the hell outta me!"

Dojima retorted, "Well, I wouldn't need to if you just paid attention to me! I know you're a respected agent and all, but I'm your partner and I deserve your respect!"

Jayden's surprised look became apologetic, his brow ruffled and his mouth in a frown. He replied somberly, "Sorry, Ryotaro, I really couldn't pay attention to _anything_," he took the black sunglasses out from his coat pocket and showed them to Dojima, "The second I put these on, I'm oblivious to the whole outside world."

Oblivious? Just by a pair of glasses? Dojima asked, "Well, what do you need those glasses for? Some fancy, advanced FBI work?"

"Bingo," replied Jayden, "These are my gateway into the ARI, or Artificial Reality Interface."

Dojima looked puzzled, "Artificial wha?"

Jayden, seeing Dojima's confusion, explained again in simpler terms, "I use these as my personal way to solve the case. It's a virtual database of all of the police files I have access to. These glasses can hold all of the police records in this station and much, much more."

Dojima showed slight interest in the glasses' capability, asking, "Do they have the files on this case?"

"Definitely," answered Jayden, "In additon, they download the files for the case I'm currently on every night so they're ready to be used in the morning."

Dojima nodded, his interest piqued by the glasses. He looked to Jayden's right hand, surrounded by the black glove. He could also see a wire coming out of the back of it, with a box with a button on top at the end.

"And what about that?" asked Dojima, pointing to the glove and button, "What do those do?"

Jayden lifted his gloved hand, holding the button, "Oh, this? The glove is used for scanning foreign objects during field work and for interacting with the virtual database."

Jayden then showed the button to Dojima, "The button is mainly used for field work to scan the surrounding area for foreign objects within a maximum radius of about 1.5 meters."

Dojima's head was starting to hurt, part from his hangover, and two, from the information he was getting from Jayden. The FBI seemed to have advanced way past the Japanese police force in terms of technology.

"Does it really work?" he asked, rubbing his right temple to try to cease his headache.

"Yes, and it works wonders, " replied Jayden, a smile appearing on his face, "If it weren't for this baby, I wouldn't have jailed the Origami Killer. Well, technically, I didn't jail him. I buried him. But the point is, they work."

Before Dojima could ask another question, the door opened and Kurosawa poked his head in.

"Dojima," he said, "You have a package waiting for you at the front desk."

"Package?" asked Dojima, "From who?"

"It's from America," answered Kurosawa, "From the FBI."

Upon hearing this, Jayden stood up, "Ah, looks as if it arrived," he went to the door with Kurosawa, "Come, Dojima. I'll show you what it is."

Dojima was slightly puzzled, but decided to follow his new partner out the door to the front desk. He wondered what the American package could contain. It was from the FBI, so maybe it was meant to help him on the case.

At the front desk, Dojima was greeted by a small cardboard box the size of a shoebox. He was about to rattle it to inspect the insides, but before he could, Jayden urged him to open it. He laid the box on the front desk and pried the top open.

Inside was the usual bits of Styrofoam used to cushion the inside object from any fall damage. He dug his hands through the mess of white bits in search for the object and felt a slim, plastic object. He grabbed hold of it and pulled, revealing a pair of-

"Those are your ARI glasses," said Jayden, smiling, "The FBI informed they'd be sending you a pair."

Dojima looked at the pair, the sides having the blue LED lights of Jayden's pair, but it wasn't powered on. He put them on and saw that they functioned like a normal pair of sunglasses, tinting his view much darker than usual.

Dojima continued to dig through the box for the glove and button, but found nothing. Strange.

Dojima was about to ask why, but Jayden answered, "The FBI has a low budget for the time being, so they could only afford to send u a spectator version of the ARI set."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Dojima, a slight annoyance in his voice, "I'm only watching you do the work?"

"Not necessarily, "explained Jayden, "It only means I will be doing all the scanning and you can help me investigate."

Still, it felt to Dojima that he wouldn't be doing most of the work.

Jayden slipped on his own pair of ARI glasses, putting on the glove and button, "Let me demonstrate. I will, set the frequency of my own glasses to match yours so that you may see what I see."

Jayden put out his gloved hand and turned it clockwise as if to turn a crank and soon, Dojima's tinted view became bright blue and the LED lights on the rims lit up.

"Do you see anything?" asked Jayden, "This should be your glasses' factory setting frequency."

Instead of answering, Dojima looked around at the neon blue environment around him. He could still see the outlines of his coworkers, still hear the ding of the coffee machines and the rings of the telephones, but he could also see the police profiles of the people he looked at, and the model numbers of the telephones and coffee machines he heard. It was amazing. It was as if he had all the information about everything around him right in front of him.

"Er…Dojima?" Dojima looked to his right to see Jayden and his own police profile next to him.

"What?" asked Dojima, still looking around at all the information.

Jayden sighed, watching Dojima's amazement. It made him seem so much like a novice. Well, because he basically was.

Jayden tried to snap Dojima out of it, "Dojima, I know all of this seems new to you, but we really need to start working on the case. So let's get back to the office and get to work."

"Eh? Alright then, you lead the way," answered Dojima.

Jayden walked down the corridor back to the offices, an amazed Dojima behind him.

Dojima stared at the coffee machine for awhile and called to Jayden, "Hey, Jayden! I didn't know our coffee machine was a Tamaha XL-900!"

Jayden sighed, "Newbie."


End file.
